Twilight Child
by dmc87
Summary: Maeva values the princess more than anyone else. When she is sent to follow Link in hopes of a better fate than the rest who have fallen to the twilight, she decides SHE will save Hyrule. DISCONTINUED BUT REMADE BY JUNIOR-WHEEL UNDER THE TITLE 'MY WAY'.
1. Let go

Maeva values the princess' life more than anyone else's. When sent to follow Link in hopes of a better future for all those who have fallen into the twilight, she decides SHE will save the princess. It becomes a race against time and a race against Link, but as time passes, will she learn to accept him? Rather, will he learn to accept what she is? Follows LoZ:TP.

Hey! Hehe, I got so into playing The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess that I had to make this. Of course, I am still continuing my KH story (the prequel to When Somebody Loves a Nobody, First Love), but I'm sorta into this first. Forgive me, everyone who reads First Love! Link **compels** me to do this. :D

It rains today. I can hear every raindrop pitter and patter against this broken castle- not that it matters; the twilight covers all. Everything that used to matter to the beings in this world.. Are they still important? Is there even any place here _he_ hasn't overtaken yet? I know not. I hate it. I hate him. I hate myself for not being able to do anything. All I can do is protect her. At least, try to.

"Maeva."

She calls. I look to my left and see her. Standing by the window, staring outside, staring out at her world. Does she even still call it her world? The only thing I can call it is bleak. Then again, I haven't travelled much. I must stay by her side. I know not why she cloaks herself.. Still, she is elegant. As if her entire world hadn't crashed all around her. How I wish I could be as strong as her. Her. The Princess.

"Maeva."

"Yes, princess?" I quickly respond to the sad tone her voice resonated. I wish to save her. But how? I cannot let her out of my sight, but..

"It's Zelda, Maeva.. Where is Midna?"

I look around the room, expecting Midna to arrive, trying to surprise us with whatever she was looking for. Nothing. "I don't know.." I wonder if she even found what she was looking for. "Earlier she told me she had sensed a presence. Someone brought in by the.. Shadows.. She went to search for this presence."

The princess nods and continues to stare out the window. I feel so lucky. That she would grace me with her presence even as I am.. this. Perhaps it is because I was made with this form.. No, she accepts Midna as well.

All of a sudden, something black jumps in through the window. I stand from the almost-broken wooden chair I was sitting on and ready myself. The princess holds her hand up, and I realize it is Midna.. On a creature. It is a wolf. Is that an earring?

I notice the princess' eyebrows as they crease. "Midna?"

Midna giggles as usual. Such frivolity. "You remember my name? What an honor for me.. Maeva, look!" She points her index finger towards the wolf.

The princess stares at the wolf with much interest. I turn to look at it as well. It looks back at me, and I find that I am taken aback. Not with fear, or surprise. I don't know what it is.. Its eyes shine with courage, but there is much confusion. It has something above its cerulean eyes, but I cannot tell if it's just a birth mark of some sort. And yes, it does have an earring. What an odd animal. The fact that it hasn't ripped Midna to shreds surprises me, as it is much bigger than she is. Then again, Midna has always been skilled at bending beings to do her will.

"So this is the one for whom you were searching." The princess speaks softly. What could be so interesting about a beast with such strong eyes? ...I wonder if I just answered my own question. From the corner of my eye, I see Midna nod and shrug.

"He's not exactly what I had in mind, but... I guess he'll do."

I finally manage to take my eyes away from the wolf. "Where did you find it? ..Him, rather?"

"The dungeons. Like I said earlier, he was captured by the shadows." Strong as he looks... I suppose even something with such eyes and seemingly large strength cannot fight against his forces.

Somehow, I know that the princess sighed. "You were imprisoned? I am sorry."

"Poor thing," Midna laughs, her voice echoing against the walls of the dark room. A candle provides little light for such a dark place. "He has no idea where this is or what's happened. Care to explain, Maeva?"

I simply stare into Midna's eye. "I as a foreigner have no right to tell the tale of this world when its denizen stands beside me."

Midna rolls her eyes, shaking her head. She does that all the time. "Drama. As usual. So since Maeva completely refuses to explain, don't you think you should explain to him what you've managed to do? You owe him that much... Twilight Princess!" She giggles. I don't know what she finds funny about anything.

I wonder if the princess finds Midna annoying at all. I can never tell with her, for she keeps herself hidden. I only ever see her eyes. "Listen carefully.." The princess explains to the wolf what happened to this world. It is then that I realize it. This wolf.. Could he possibly be a human as well? He seems to understand what the princess is telling him. I'm just surprised that he didn't turn into a spirit, unlike the rest of the humans when they are under the twilight's shroud. Maybe the strength of his heart prevented him from fully turning into a spirit? No.. Can that happen? I don't think that's it.. Maybe for another Kingdom. Or perhaps it has something to do with that mark above his eyes.

"The kingdom succumbed to twilight, but I remain its princess... I am Zelda." The princess introduces herself to the wolf. It pains me whenever I hear that story. "You both don't have to look so sad!" Midna smiles, and looks to me. "We actually find it to be quite livable! I mean, is perpetual twilight really all that bad?"

"Midna," The princess almost scolds, but she keeps her tone calm. "This is no time for levity. The shadow beasts have been searching far and wide for you. Why is this?"

Midna shiftily looks around for a moment, then laughs as she stares at me. "Why indeed? You tell me!"

I look to the princess, who looks back at me with shocked eyes. "What is wr-"

"Time has grown short. The guard will soon make his rounds. You must leave here, quickly." I frown. "Why, princess?" I am not one to doubt the princess' intentions, but.. Why? I must protect her!

She looks to the wolf. "I see much hope for you... In him."

I stare at the wolf incredulously. "The wolf? Truly, princess?"

"Truly. Please, you must leave quickly.. Before the guard comes. You want to help, don't you, Maeva?"

"Yes, princess."

"Then follow Midna. I trust she knows what to do with the wolf. I trust you to save us all from the twilight." A feeling of enlightenment fills me, and I nod. To save the princess, I must save her kingdom. And to save her kingdom, I must defeat the twilight. I walk to the door. "Not that way!" Midna shouts to me. I turn around and Midna points to a cracked window above the room. "The guard's coming! Boy, he's prompt!"

Seeing the candle that illuminated the stairs, the wolf (with Midna on him) jumps out of the window. I look to the princess worriedly, but she refuses to look back now. I take a deep breath. I have not left the princess since we met. I don't know if I can let go...

"Maeva! Today, please?" I hear Midna's shriek from the window.

"...Yes," I reply, although only I can hear it, then jump and crawl through the window.

Panting, I sit outside with Midna and the wolf. The rain has stopped, but I wish it hadn't. Midna is speaking with the wolf and I'd rather not listen in. I want to save Hyrule.. But how? I could not even stop _him_. "Well, you'd have to be my servant.. and like a servant, you'd have to do exactly as I say! Why don't you go back, take a little time, and give it some thought?" Midna giggles, patting the wolf. I repress a chuckle as the wolf slightly glares at Midna. She does talk a lot.

Midna turns to me. "I'm taking the wolf back to where he first took on this form."

I nod and stand up. "I will go with you."

She raises an eyebrow at me. "So eager to leave your princess?"

I look away. "Her orders."

"Ah," Midna says it in her usual amused tone, and as usual I ignore it. Midna opens a portal and I open my eyes once we have been transported. I look around. Beautiful. This spring has not yet been covered in the twilight, and tadpoles swim around my feet. I want to jump onto the deeper side, but I remember the princess. I hear Midna speak, but when I turn to the wolf, she is gone. I then see eyes from the wolf's shadow, and realize that she is there. "Where are we to go?" I ask.

"Looks like this is where the wolf is from," Midna replies. "We go into town!" I nod and look to my right. There is a bridge, but beyond it.. No. The twilight has affected this place as well, and it slowly continues to spread.. The wolf starts to lead me to his town. As we walk there, I see an empty two-story house, and to its right, a few targets and such. I wonder who lives there? I look at a sign by the ladder leading to the house.

"LINK", it says. Hmm. Was he taken by the twilight as well? I shrug, deciding to find out later, when I had saved the princess (for that is more important than learning who owns such a nice-looking home; I know my priorities), and follow the wolf into town.

Torches are lit, and I can almost taste the fear swarming the place. I kneel beside the wolf. "You are not the only one who has been taken.. Are you?" I ask him. He shakes his head, and I look around some more. There is a man on one of the small hills by the lake, and he is quivering in fear. Why does he leave the safety of his home and stand where he is so vulnerable? The wolf tries to walk towards the hill the man is on, but the man screams and the wolf is forced to retreat. I shake my head and turn to the wolf. "They're so scared that they are startled by a wolf. I will go into town. Meanwhile.."

"The wolf and I will look for a sword and shield!" Midna suggests. "For me, of course."

"Of course."

"And you can be the distra- I mean, you go around town, since you can fit in. Gather information on what might have happened to this wolf's friends. Can you sense his worry?"

"So much that it almost haunts me."

"I agree," Midna shudders. "So we'll meet back here at the entrance to the village, okay?" I nod. It doesn't matter, really. This is such a small town that I only need to look around to see Midna and the wolf. I enter a house (it is a shop, so I don't think they will mind if I enter without knocking) and see a plump woman leaning on the counter, and something that seems to be her cat prowling about. She notices me and jumps. "Oh! ..A traveller?"

I suppose I should go with that. "Yes."

"We don't get many visitors around here...Look around and, well, buy what you want." I pretend to 'look around', as there is nothing useful for me here. I turn to the woman. It isn't odd that she's been staring at the Leviathan since I entered, but.. "Is there something wrong? This is not the attitude of someone who wants to sell something."

The woman sighs and looks at me. "Yes.. I guess you're right. It's just that-- oh, I'm so worried."

"About what?" Midna tells me these people like it when others listen to them spouting on and on about their problems, though I can't imagine why anyone would want to burden another with their trust. I certainly would not.

"The children of the town. Monsters came over here and took them all! Malo, Talo, Beth, Ilia, Colin, and the rancher, Link... It's terrible, I don't know what to do!" So this Link _was_ taken. And the wolf could be one of those six that were mentioned.

"I think you should pray for the best," I said to her, afterwards getting a bad taste in my mouth. No such prayers ever work for me. "I am sure someone will save your children..." Someone like the wolf. I neared the door.

"You're right again. Maybe... You're not going to buy anything?" I shake my head and toss her 20 rupees. "No, but I might as well have."

I quickly leave the shop and look around for Midna and the wolf. So perhaps they aren't as easy to find as I thought they would be. I try to open the door of the house across the shop, but it is locked. I walk a little ways to the west of the house and see two people leaving a house, but my attention turns to the man quivering on the hill when he starts screaming again. "Mon-monster! You've returned for more, haven't you?! My- my daughter.. Return her!" He yells at the wolf. He takes a reed and blows into it, producing quite a pleasant sound. It turns unpleasant when an eagle comes to him and attacks the wolf. I hear Midna grumble and the wolf retreats once more.

I suppose I can try to be a distraction. I walk up to that side of the town and stand at the bottom of the ledge. "Excuse me, sir!" I call to him.

He looks down and sees me. "Who-who are you??" He asks warily.

"A traveller," I stick to the plump woman's story. "I had just entered town and I was wondering what the occassion is. It is almost midnight and here you are, standing on a hill, on its ledge, screaming. Don't you think you might wake the others?"

The man sighs, and I see the wolf jumping onto the roof of the shop from earlier. "You don't understand," he shakes his head. "My daughter was taken... Oh, Beth..." He kneels and holds his head. I look to the wolf, who jumps onto the same ledge the man is on. The man notices the impact of the wolf's jump, and starts screaming. "Whoa!" He shouts as he falls off the ledge. It is not too high a ledge, so I don't think he got hurt. The man holds his back. "Ugh... Why didn't you catch me..."

I stare at the man. "I'm sorry. That wolf... Is that the one you were wary about?"

"Yes," The man sits up by the ledge when he is sure that the wolf is gone. "But that wolf's companions were worse. They came this morning, took the children, and left everyone in a mess.."

"I see."

"You'll help us.. Won't you? That weapon.." He looks to my Leviathan.

"I will try," I mutter, and the wolf and Midna have entered the house with the windmill. Why? I know not, but Midna will have to reveal it to me soon. I walk back to the house with the two humans and I hear a man say, "What was that sound?! The children could not have returned... could they? I must go out and search one last time. You get inside the house. I have placed the sword that was to be our gift to Hyrule on the couch. If the mayor comes for it, please give it to him." So a sword is inside this house. Surely Midna will want it. She and the wolf are still in the other house, so..

I walk up to the man, and see that the person he was speaking with was his wife. "But, darling.. Your injuries!"

"It doesn't-" The wife looks at me, and so does the man. They stare at me with wide eyes, and the man shouts, "Beast! I have found you!"

He rushes at me and I step aside. He runs past me, and I realize that it is the wolf he was calling. Oh, no. I watch as the wolf dodges the man as well and retreats into the water. The man doesn't see it, but I do. The man walks back to his wife and the two now pay attention to me.

"Are you all right?" The woman asks me. I nod, "Yes. I am a traveller." The woman smiles, but the man looks suspicious. "Where are you from?"

"Hyrule," I answer, clearing my throat.

"Oh, you have come to pick the sword up?" The wife asks, and the wolf runs up to the side of the house. I shake my head.

"Actually-"

"The shield! It's gone!" I hear someone shriek. Ugh. Denizens in this town seem to like destroying other people's eardrums. The man's eyes widen, and he bursts into his house. The sword is gone- the wolf and Midna as well. A rather chubby man runs up to the house, and he calls the man who ran into the house. "Rusl!" He exclaims, "The shield has been stolen!"

This 'Rusl' leaves the house and frowns agitatedly. "The sword is gone, too. Who could have taken it?" I slowly back away, but Rusl turns to me. "You!" I stare at him and say nothing.

"Who is she?" The other man asks.

"I don't know," Rusl says. "Uli, get into the house." His wife looks at me fearfully then nods, entering the house. I strongly dislike it when people look at me like that. The two men look at me. Rusl glares at me. "I bet you're with the wolf."

"Yeah!" The man on the ledge from earlier runs up to them. "When the wolf pushed me off the ledge, she didn't move a muscle to help me!" The largest one of them stares at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes," Rusl nods, and points at me. "Why else would she have those weird markings on her? She must be working for those pigs that took the children!"

"You misunderstand," I shake my head. No. I hate it when humans judge me because of these markings. "I am only trying to-"

"Get her!"


	2. Beautiful

Maeva, a young woman taken in by Zelda, values the princess more than anyone else. When sent to follow Link in hopes of a better future for all those who have fallen into the twilight, she decides SHE will save the _princess _and Hyrule. It becomes a race against time and a race against Link, but as time passes, will she learn to accept him? Rather, will he learn to accept what she is? Follows LoZ:TP.

**AnimeFreak2306**: Yay, my first Twilight Child friend. Anyhoozle, I'm very happy you like it. I didn't think people would like the present tense thing, but you just made my day when I read your review. What do you mean a twilight one like this? And nope, you're not stupid and you didn't miss it. I just didn't know where to put it yet. Well, I'm going to stop babbling now and let you read the update. Here you go:D

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This is why I dislike humans. They judge based on appearances, and... I suppose I have no right to be angered. I sometimes think like that as well. "_Maeva! We'll meet you at the springs!_" I hear Midna call out to me in our language. I raise my hand without turning around to signal my understanding. The three men continue to walk forward. "Again, you misunderstand. I am trying to help."

"How? By taking our things??" The man on the ledge earlier yells, his wrinkles growing more obvious as he gets angrier.

"No," I wield my Leviathan. "By keeping you all out of this. Trust me, it is not a problem you will want to handle. And with the state you're in now, I don't think it's a problem you _can_ handle." I speak mostly about the man on the ledge.

"Keeping us out of what?" The largest man holds the other two back and looks at me sternly. "The problem," I answer. "I promise you, if you let me go, I will make sure that the humans that were taken from this town are safe."

"How do we know you're not lying? And what do you mean by _human_?" Rusl continues to glare at me. "I don't care anymore! Give me back my daughter! Hyaahhh!" The man who used to stand on the ledge rushes at me with a stick he picked up from the ground. It is rather gnarled, and in my opinion, quite useless. "Hanch!" The largest man gasps.

I deflect his stick with the Leviathan, and this 'Hanch' falls to the ground. I swear I did nothing. The force of his attack and the strength of the Leviathan simply blew him away. "Hanch!" Rusl gasps, and turns to the largest man. "Bo.."

'Bo', the largest man, sighs and nods. "How dare you harm Hanch! Evil beast in the form of a girl!" Rusl says angrily, and runs towards me as well. His only weapon is a broken arm and a free right hand. "I did not harm your friend. He was trying to harm _me_ and I merely protected myself."

"She has a point," Bo agrees as I move out of the way of Rusl's attack. Finally, someone who understands. "But really, how do we know you didn't take the children?"

I try not to show that I am hesitating, but I fail. I slowly remove the bracelet the princess bestowed upon me and hold it up in the air. "This is very important to me," I nearly choke at the thought of the bracelet, with its beautiful emerald green beads strung to a lime green string falling gracefully against my fingers, being given away to someone other than I. "I will come back for it when your children are safe. Catch!" I throw the bracelet, and Bo turns around to catch it. Rusl and Hanch on the ground, Bo running off.. Now is my chance.

Hmph, my bracelet for my escape. I believe it wasn't a fair trade, but I had no other choice. I rub my arm in annoyance. Foolish, distrustful humans! What a waste of a perfectly good bracelet. It was my.. lucky charm, of sorts. I arrive at the spring in time to see the wolf defeating and destroying a shadow beast. A creature floats by the falls, emanating a light so bright that I have to cover my eyes. "O brave youth.." Its voice almost glows. "I am one of four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the gods. I am Ordona. The black beast you slayed was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of light I wield."

The princess never spoke of any spirits that protected Hyrule. Either way, these light spirits are doing a terrible job. "My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts.. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness. The blight will not stop with Hyrule," It adds. This is true. "Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the twilight." This spirit, Ordona, as it calls itself.. It says that those transformed by the twilight cannot return to their true forms, but if the wolf returns to Faron Woods, the place where he was first transformed into what he is now, he might be able to. That is, if the wolf revives the light spirit.

Is this the hope the princess speaks of? If I follow the wolf and perhaps try to aid it... Will it save the princess? Why didn't the princess just send _me_? Is it because of what I am? Does she not believe that **I** can fulfill the task she seems to have entrusted to this wolf?

Ordona disappears and the wolf turns to me. Rather, to the direction of Faron Woods. "Oh, you're back. How was it?" Midna asks, realizing that I am here as she and the wolf pass by me. I raise my left hand, and Midna bursts into laughter. "You gave the bracelet up? You really hate that princess, don't you?" I give Midna a spiteful look. "I had no choice."

I follow Midna and the wolf onto the bridge, and Midna returns the look. "Why give that up when you can throw the Leviathan away? Don't tell me it's too precious to give away..." "It is not," I nearly spit. The anger in Midna's visible eye blazes within me in a moment. "It's just that this is my only weapon. I am clueless when it comes to any other weapon."

"Tch," Midna rolls her eye and turns back to the path ahead. "Only barbarians use spears with tear shaped crystals resting on top."

"It isn't just a spear with that design," I retort. "This crystal has magic which can be very use-"

"For _what_?" Midna interrupts, turning her head to face me furiously. "Here I am thinking that you're with me, and there **you** are praising his magic! Have you forgotten, Maeva? That isn't our magic!"

"Yes, but.."

"Listen to me, Maeva. This-" Midna stops as something brushes against my leg. I look down and see the wolf trying to catch my attention with its tail. I raise an eyebrow at Midna, who shrugs, and kneel beside of the wolf. "What is it, wolf?"

The wolf looks at me with its intimidating eyes, and points towards Faron Woods. The twilight has completely surrounded it. "Is this it?" I ask Midna, who seems to have calmed down. She nods, and pats the wolf on the head. "The Faron Woods that you know so well... They're now covered in twilight. You might not be able to come back here, but... Do you still want to go?" She asks him. Almost humanely, a sigh escapes the wolf's lips. Do wolves have lips? I know not, but I am especially clueless to its term in this world's language. Anyway, the wolf nods. Truly, it is a brave soul. But will it really be the one to save the princess? I cannot help but feel... envious.

"Here we go," Midna pats the wolf again, hops off of it, and enters the twilight. A few seconds later, a hand comes out of the gate and grabs the wolf, dragging it into the twilight. I take a deep breath and enter as well.

"Hmm!" I see Midna hold a shield with her left hand and a sword with her right. These are the items they stole? "Look, Maeva! They use these weapons in this world. Crude, aren't they? Just like your Leviathan..." I snort, deciding to ignore any comments Midna might have reserved for the Leviathan. "Then again," she chuckles. "You only wanted to fit in, so he gave you that **thing**... But do you think these weapons can really slay the creatures of the twilight?" The two of us look to the wolf, who says nothing. His eyes reflect doubt and weariness. I cannot blame him... Midna is quite heavy.

"Oh well, who cares.." Midna shrugs. "I'll hang on to them for little wolfy here. Okay, I trust you enough to help. A promise is a promise, I guess. In exchange for our help, though, you'll have to gather a few things for us.. Look, I can't tell you all the details now, but it'll be easy, trust me."

"As easy as finding a way to distract the shadows and escape from him?" I smirk, allowing amusement to make its way to my expression. "Funny," Midna covers her eyes, but in a moment, her eyes widen. "Can you hear that noise?"

I perk my ears up and true enough, a sad melody fills the damp air. But it is not noise. "What is it?" I ask. I've never heard such a sorrowful song. Not even from the bards in the towns that we... That he and his minions pillaged and conquered. "It's the lamentation of the spirit that had its light stolen," Midna explains, and one of her mischievous smiles creeps up to her face. "Where in the world could it be? Eee hee!" She pats the wolf and looks at me. "Better get going, don't you think? Just in case the wolf tries to blame us for his world's fate if we don't hurry up and find that light!" She pats the wolf harder this time and shouts, "Come on! Snap to it!" The wolf glares at her from the corner of his eye, and reluctantly follows her orders.

Just as we are about to move along, jagged rocks fall all around us, creating a familiar barrier around me, the wolf, and Midna. I look up, and shadow beasts fall from a twilight portal. "Aww, we're penned in again!" Midna complains. "Who do they think they're dealing with? Anyway, no need to deal with these pests on one at a time! That princess seems to want me to help you, so I guess I can do her a favor." Midna looks at me. "You stay out of this."

"But it will be easier if I just-"

"Hey, her orders," She then turns to the wolf. "Just signal to me when to do so, and I can expand an energy field. All you have to do is make sure the enemies are within it, so you can trap **them** and defeat them! Easy, right?" The wolf nods, digs his claws into the ground, and Midna nods. "All right!" She creates the energy field and the wolf defeats the beasts in a single round. "I told you he could do it," Midna grins at me. "Hmph," I snort again as the barrier disappears. "Nothing _I_ cannot do. Let's move on. Quickly, we are wasting time."

"Yes, we must," Midna mocks me, but I ignore her. I am above that. "Arrogance aside, where's the light spirit, Maeva?" I listen for the melody once more, and point towards the north. "That way."

"Let's go then," Midna pats the wolf, who starts leaping towards the north. I start running as well, and Midna giggles. "I thought you said quickly? Hurry, hurry!" A few distances later, we find another spring, and the wolf stops there (Midna's orders, of course). My heart beats to the melody of the light spirit. The close proximity causes this. A light spirit appears before us, and it looks weary. Its light is bright, but for some reason it feels almost dead. Dull, maybe? Muted? I don't know.

"Please be careful... These woods.. Have changed... The dark clouds of dusk cover this land... This drape of shadows is called.. twilight. It is a place... where the dark ones and evil creatures dwell ...I am a spirit of light ...Blue-eyed beast. Look for my light... Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts, and.." The light spirit seems to have a hard time breathing. For some reason, I also feel the need to state the obvious. "Keep it in this vessel." A small object that looks somewhat like a plant appears in the air. Its stems, if I may call them that, has small, empty bulbs connected to them. I take it and the spirit doesn't seem to notice. If it does, it does not seem to mind. It tells the wolf that the evil that took this spirit's light had spread around and taken the form of insects. Apparently, when you destroy these insects, you can gather the tears inside the Vessel.

We leave the spirit, and once again, I follow the wolf. This really is his home. Sad how he must see it in such a state. Still, the princess keeps her composure better. "Insects!" Midna exclaims, and I instantly look to my left. I take the Leviathan and throw it at the insect. I watch it slowly die, and a small croak comes out before it disappears into the air. A Tear brings itself to the Vessel, which I had temporarily turned into a bracelet for easy-holding. "I defeated.." I stop as another Tear enters the Vessel. The wolf had gotten one, too. "Hee hee, disappointed?" Midna asks. "For what reason?" I reply, looking away. Midna says nothing, and I follow the wolf around the woods.

After walking north for a while, the wolf turns left and I find a small clearing. A small hut is to the left. There is a cauldron in the middle on top of a clump of sticks, and to the right there is an already-opened treasure chest. Who could have lived here? "Look..." I hear Midna whisper to the wolf, and it suddenly runs into the wall of the house. "Are you mad?" I raise an eyebrow at Midna, who returns the look again. "No, are you?" She grins as another Tear returns to me. I must not get aggravated by a wolf. Midna is merely using him to tease me.

I try to open the door to the house, but it is locked. Bolted from the inside, I mean. I walk around to the side and see a hole into the house. Perfect. I walk to the ledge of the rock on the side of the house and jump into it, barely grabbing onto the window. I throw myself inside, and after rubbing my hands together (I am not used to doing things like that), I jump to the ground level of the house. A small man with a rather puffed hairdo is cowering in a corner. "Wh-What's with these bugs?" He gasps. "Those things aren't normal! They're so big.. So weird.. So creepy.. C'mon, get away, bugs... Shoo... Get out of here..." He whimpers. This man is a human turned into a spirit. Quite a cowardly one, but if one were to look at it subjectively, I believe I as a human would be scared as well.

"Use your senses to see the spirits, remember?" Midna's giggles catch my attention, and suddenly she and the wolf are right beside me. I look to the wolf, whose eyebrows crease once he sees the man. His nose twitches, and he looks from left to right. Does he know this man? It doesn't matter. "Step aside, Midna."

Before Midna can speak, I throw the Leviathan at the insect by the wall and step on another crawling by. I pull my leg back as the electric currents coming from the insect shocks me, but I have hold of its Tear, and that's what matters. "That was quick!" Midna smiles, and she forces the wolf out of the house. The human cowers a bit more, and I leave as well. To tell you the truth, nothing that interesting happened while we searched for the rest of the insects, except for the fact that the location where we found the other insects had a terrible fog which hurt the wolf. We have about fourteen now, and there are only two empty bulbs. "Two more to go!" Midna cheers, and pats the wolf. He starts to run until pillars fall around him, and the twilight barrier comes up. "We can handle this," Midna giggles, seeing my widened eyes.

"Hmph," I snort again and look away. "Then do it hurriedly, I cannot wait to rid this place of the twilight." "Hee hee hee!" Midna laughs to the point of holding her stomach. "Talk about xenocentricity!" The wolf defeats all the shadow beasts, and the barrier disappears. "I know you dislike the twilight, but don't you think you're going to overboard?" "...Perhaps, I apologize," I turn to the rocky path ahead of us. "Two more. Come, wolf." He silently follows me past a bird's shop (its name is Trill, apparently, and it's giving me quite the headache) and towards a narrow path, almost as if he were thinking. "Hey, hey," Midna calls. "Don't treat him like he's **your** servant. If you've forgotten, _I_ found him so I get to command him."

"So territorial," I sigh and act as if the wolf being her servant is much of a loss. "It is not my fault that it's your hobby to pick things up out of nowhere. It truly shows your maturity, Midna."

"Just because I'm old doesn't mean I can't have fun! And that's no way to treat your. Well.. You know. Plus you're lucky I'm letting you talk to me like that!"

"True. Just obviate from flaunting your so-called maturity and I will continue to _respect_ you."

Midna and the wolf stare at me, and Midna turns her head. "Look, insects!" How true to her personality that action is.. To run when she can no longer take it. I look ahead anyway, and two insects circling a log where a spirit cowers. It is a female monkey. I believe it actually has more composure than that human from earlier. "Pitiful," I comment, though she cannot hear me, and I destroy one of the insects crawling around the log. "This one's ours," Midna pats the wolf, and he crushes the insect with his sharp claws. I hear the last moans of the dark insect before it releases the last Tear.

"The Vessel," I whisper breathlessly. It unlatches itself from me and floats in the air, its light touching everything as far as the eye could see. I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful.. With the exception of Princess Zelda, of course. She is the kindest, most loving human I have ever met. In a split second, Midna, the wolf and I are back at the second spring. The twilight no longer haunts this place. The light spirit, now singing a pleasantly calm melody, glows beautifully; the waters that surround it make it an even more entrancing sight.

It turned its head towards us. "My name is Faron," it speaks. "I am one of the spirits of light who dwell in Hyrule. I use the life force of the gods to protect this forest. O brave youth.." Light surrounds the wolf. "In the land covered in twilight, where people roam as spirits, you were transformed into a blue-eyed beast.." The light fades, and a human now stands before me. His back is turned on me, so the first characteristic I notice is his golden hair.

I notice that they fall gracefully down behind his ear as he turns side to side, looking around. He wears earrings on his pointed ears which embellish his cerulean eyes. His soft lips part in amazement as he stares at his hands. I suppose it would be surprising and relieving to find that you are in your true form again. His hands. They are rough, which proves that he does quite a lot of hard work.. I stand corrected when I thought that there was nothing more beautiful than the light.

I believe he has the endurance of a warrior with his build and his tan; also.. His cheeks are red as the rose Midna once tried to eat when she first arrived here. It is when Midna giggles uncontrollably that I comprehend why his cheeks are that shade. He is unclad, and very embarrassed about it. Now that I know of it, I am as well. He opens his mouth to speak, but I look away as the light spirit, Faron, speaks once more.

I find myself staring into the water.. At my reflection. Unruly ebony hair falls around my shoulders. My hazel eyes reflect nothing but the pain and suffering I have caused the beings of this world, although my long eyelashes try to hide them. My lips, red as they may be, are the representation of all the blood I have spilled. My lightly tanned skin is vandalized by the markings of the twilight. Not that I rebuke the one who gave me such markings.. I am thankful for this form. But these markings show the world what I truly am, what I was, and what I might become.

Faron starts to talk about a green tunic, and I look back to the wolf. The human, rather. He is now clad in this green tunic, along with a.. hat.. Which only forces me to appreciate human beauty more. "His power is yours," Faron says. "His is the true power that slept within you. Your name is Link, and you are the hero chosen by the gods." Link.. The ranch hand? Rancher, rather? So I was right. Hero chosen by the gods...

"Brave Link," Faron calls. "A dark power rests in the temple deep within these woods. It is a forbidden power. Long, long ago, I and the other spirits of light locked it away. Because of its nature, it is a power that should never be touched by any who dwell in the light. But this world weeps beneath a mantle of shadows, and so there is no choice... You must match the power of the king of shadows. If you would seek this forbidden power, then proceed to the temple in the forest depths." With this, Faron disappears.

Link turns to look at me and gives me a small smile. He starts to walk towards me. I turn to the water again. I, the hideously marked murderer. He, the beautiful hero chosen by the gods...

I will not let him best me.

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I hope you enjoyed that one! Maeva bashes herself too much, don't you think? As opposed to our Kumei who's practically in love with herself.. Heh, I'll get the next update as soon as I can (sneak onto the computer)!


	3. Do I look it?

Maeva, a young woman taken in by Zelda, values the princess more than anyone else. When she is sent to follow Link in hopes of a better fate than the rest who have fallen to the twilight, she decides SHE will save Hyrule. Rest of the summary is inside.

**AnimeFreak2306: Haha, yes, she is. And I was going to make Link completely unable to speak, but then there would be less things about him to make fun of. :D Lastly, I'm very glad you liked the descriptions. I suck at descriptions, you see.**

Aaaaaand again, enough of my babbling. You could be off to read this chapter, and I myself am off to play LoZ! Yes, I haven't finished it yet. I haven't played it in a week! Excluding yesterday. Okay babbling again. Later!

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"Well, well.." Link halts as Midna appears from Link's shadow. "You're the chosen hero and all that, huh? So **that**'s why you turned into that beast! What a shame... I mean, maybe you'd rather just wander as a spirit like the rest of them, totally unaware of what was happening for all eternity.. Right?" Link's eyebrows crease and he shakes his head. "Eee hee hee!" Midna flies over to where I stand. "Just the answer we expected, right, Maeva?" "I suppose," I grumble. "What did you say?" Midna asks, pretending she did not hear me. "Yes," I answer, wishing for her to stop such foolishness. "Just the answer."

"Great! So.." She returns to Link. "What do you want to do? Do you want to head to that temple? Well, isn't that convenient! Maeva and I were about to head there ourselves. Hey, look... You want to help your friends, right? The way I see it, maybe they're in the temple, waiting for you to rescue them.." That is what I admire about Midna. She always manages to twist her words into something that will force whoever she is talking to to bend to her will. "Well, good luck, Mr. Important Hero!"

"Well?" I raise an eyebrow at Link. "What is your decision?" Link opens his mouth to speak, but closes it again. "I..." He frowns. "I will go to the Temple." "Wonderful," I mutter, walking away from the spring. I turn around to see that he has not followed me. "Well? Unless you plan to stand there all morning, follow up." "...Yes," He nods, and runs to me. "Here," I hand him the sword and the shield he and Midna acquired earlier. "These are your weapons. Do you know how to use them?" Link nods, taking the pathetic looking shield and sword from me. "Thank you," he smiles as he says this. "It's a pleasure to finally speak to you in person."

I smirk back, "Of course it is."

Brown noser. He doesn't even have a reaction to what I said. Is he that dull or just completely innocent? Either way, I am starting to dislike him. How is he able to keep his composure like that? "Okay, well..." He walks ahead of me, but stops. "Come on. I know the way to the temple." I don't reply as he leads me to the same gate which was open earlier when these woods were still under the influence of the twilight. The path is blocked by the locked gate. Link simply stares at it. Before I can comment, he turns left and we enter the clearing with that cowardly man from earlier. He is now out in the open and sitting on a log, in front of that cauldron I mentioned. "Coro," Link calls. "Would you know how to open that gate?" He truly is a human, _asking_ help from another. This is something about Midna that I do not appreciate, although I have no right to disagree.

Coro, the cowardly man, falls off the log as he sees Link and I. He squints his eyes at Link and sighs in relief. "It's the Ordonian!" He laughs to himself. "You seemed familiar, but then your clothes seem kinda different, so I got thrown off for a second! Listen... Things have been a little rough around here lately, so you should watch your step, okay, guy?" "Sure, Coro." Link answers. "But do you know how to-" "Yeah," Coro shakes his head. Mixed messages? "I have the key to it. I got kinda scared of all the monsters so I closed it, but.. You really wanna go back there, huh, guy? You sure do look geared up for it. Here!" He tosses a small key to Link, then looks to me. "Hey guy, who's this girl?"

Link turns to me, then back to Coro. "Maeva," he tells Coro. How odd it feels when he speaks my name. Is it annoyance? I suppose it could be... "Oh! Nice to meet you, girl!" Coro waves. I will not even grace that with an answer. I simply nod and say to Link, "We have the key, so let us leave. The quicker we achieve what Midna wants, the faster we can go our separate ways." "Ooh, bittersweet, isn't she, guy? You sure pick weird friends.." I glare at Coro for this comment, but turn away. "Enough time has already been wasted. If you're going to continue this, then give me the key. I will do it myself." "No, sorry," Link apologizes and waves goodbye to Coro. He opens the gate and we enter the small tunnel.

"I'm sorry about what Coro said," Link tells me as he holds a lantern up for us to see. "He doesn't really think before he says things." "So I've noticed," I reply. "You call him a friend? He cannot even remember your name." "...I think it's just a habit of his to call people guy or girl." "Yes, you _think_," I retort as we exit the tunnel. That's a surprise. "Hm, now that you are a human.. How inconvenient.." I turn to my right, looking for a path he is able to go through, but Midna's angry yell distracts me. "Hey, what's this monkey's problem? You idiot!" She frowns at Link. "While you were staring off into dreamland, your lantern got stolen!"

"Midna," I put my finger to my lips as I see the monkey she was speaking of. "You must stop screaming." I almost feel pity for this human. I cannot stand it when Midna shouts, either. "Look." I point to the monkey holding the lantern, and show to them that the purple fog disappears wherever the monkey is. Of course, it is the effect of the lantern, but if this monkey insists on helping.. Now I recognize it. It's the female monkey cowering because of the bugs earlier. "Maeva," I return to reality as Link's soft voice reaches my ears. "Are you coming?"

"...Of course," I mutter, and follow the monkey beside him. "Why do you think she wants to help?" Link asks me. "Perhaps she knows this is all for the princess and is helping us. If not, I do not know." Link seems to be content this answer, as he says nothing more. How can a human accept a fate such as this? Humans are cowards! Pathetic fools who don't know how to fight.. This is why their world has been overcome by the twilight! This is- "Maeva, look out!" Link pushes me out of the way with his rough gloves, and attacks something that was behind me with his sword. I look to my left and see a bleeding Deku Baba, its tongue still moving around. Link holds his hand out for me to take. "Are you all right?" He asks. I ignore his offer and stand on my own. "I'm fine," I answer stiffly, and run after the monkey. "Hurry, she's getting away."

It was just by chance that he was looking. In any case, what kind of swordsman uses his left hand to hold his sword? This Link is such an oddity. I must stop drifting into my thoughts so this will not happen again. I look up as the monkey makes another sound, drops the lantern, and runs off. "That was odd," I comment, and pick the lantern up before Link can. "I'll keep this for now," I said. "You might lose it again." He says nothing to this, and I roll my eyes to myself. "We have crossed the miasma.. Now what?" "Here," He points to North Faron Woods, and I follow him there. There is a clearing here which has nothing of interest, except a bridge which seems to have come out of nowhere. I follow Link into the next area, where there is a small blue toucan manning a 'shop', if you will call it that. There are two cauldrons at its side, one filled with a red mixture and another yellow green. Below it is a box, where you might place money. "Welcome! Hey!" The bird calls. "Buy something! Anything!"

Link curiously walks over to the shop (which barely has anything to protect itself from thieves) and takes an empty bottle from his pouch. I have no choice but to stare into the cauldrons as well. "A refill of red potion, please," Link smiles at the bird. "No problem!" It nearly croaks (its voice is not exactly music to the ears), takes Link's bottle, and scoops up some red potion for him. I would advise him to run, but... "Thank you," he continues to smile, and hands the toucan some rupees. "Hey! What a generous young man!" Link turns to me, "Can I have the lantern first?" I stare at him curiously and hand it to him. He asks for an oil refill and the toucan happily obliges; Link pays it again. "Hey! Thank you!" The toucan calls after him as he gives me the lantern and places the bottle back into his pouch. "Come back sometime! Hey!" Link looks back and waves at the bird before walking again. "Sorry about the delay, but this potion is useful and the lantern needed refilling," Link tells me as he starts to move again.

"Why do you explain yourself to me?" I ask, raising an eyebrow at him. He opens his mouth again, but closes it. Again. There is something wrong with this human. Something very... "Can you see that?" I ask him, pointing to something ahead. He nods. I come closer, and it is a wolf whose fur is embellished with golden strands. "It is blocking the way to our destination," I state. "Wait.." He tries to block my way with his arm as well, but I push it away. "I will not stand for obstacles.." I wield the Leviathan and notice that the wolf has crimson eyes- it growls at me almost angrily. I am not scared of a wolf. "Maeva, no," Link whispers and pulls me back. I growl at _him_ angrily. "Do not dare touch-!"

My eyes widen as the golden wolf barks and jumps Link. "Link...!" I blink multiple times, but he is no longer there. "Midna!" I call. Nobody answers. The golden wolf has disappeared, too. "Hey! What happened!" I hear the toucan's voice come closer. It descends on my shoulder and looks around. "Where did the nice guy and the wolf go? That wolf's been eyeing you two since a while ago, hey!" It tells me.

"I know not where he disappeared to," I answer it. "Say.. What's your name? Hey!" I close my eyes and bite my lip in annoyance. Its voice was so... Shrill. "My name is Maeva, and his is Link. What is yours?" "It's Trill! Hey!"

"Trill..."

"Yeah?"

"Stop screaming."

"Okay, hey," Trill starts to whisper. Much better, in my opinion. "Well, I better get back to my shop, hey... Good luck with that generous young man," Trill says, and flies back to his shop. Well, I think the bird is male.. Don't you? "Unh!" What kind of sound is that? I turn around and see Link with his face flat on the floor. I give him an annoyed look, although he cannot see me. "Where did you disappear to?"

"You were at a snowy training ground with an undead soldier? Too farfetched a story," I frown disbelievingly. "It's true!" Midna appears beside me. I stare at both Midna and Link. Both of them nod, trying to convince me. "If **you** say so, then I guess it might be true.." "Might?" Midna frowns and holds her hips. "Then I guess it's true.." I restate. "Good," Midna grins, and disappears back into Link's shadow. We enter the temple, and once inside, two Deku Baba instantly attack us. Link destroys the one to the right with a new attack he is supposed to have learned from that golden wolf, and I just throw the Leviathan straight into its mouth, killing it instantly. Very disgusting, yes. I hear a familiar sound and see the monkey from earlier. She's trapped. I wonder how that happened. "Doesn't it look like she's beckoning you?" Midna taps Link's shoulder. "Aren't you the popular one? Eee hee!" Link looks to me, and I shrug. He destroys the cage she is trapped in and she seems to jump and 'dance' happily. She leads us forward.

We climb up the vines (crushing the spiders on the way with our fists) and enter the next room. There is a platform in the middle and three doors, excluding the one behind us. Two doors are at each side of the room, and the last one is across us. It seems almost impossible to enter the doors at the sides, as there is no path. Just cords that are connected to two poles on either sides of the other platforms. The door across us is nearer the center platform, but I doubt we could jump that far. Well, I doubt Link could. "Midna?" I call. "What is it?" She appears beside us. "What exactly are we searching for?" Midna giggles, and shakes her head. "Just trust me on this one!" She jumps back into Link's shadow. I try to call her once more, but she does not answer.

Link does not know this place either, correct? This means that neither of us can lead.. I take the first step and go down the stairs towards the center platform. There are stairs up to the center platform, but I am unable to reach the top because an enormous spider drops down from the ceiling. I jump back in surprise and take the Leviathan from behind me. I stab at its pedipalps, and this seems to make it angry. It takes a bite at me, but I trip on a step and fall back-two warm arms catch me. "Are you okay?" I lean on him a bit and stand. I shift my weight from on him to my left leg and frown at the spider.

"Overgrown _insect_," I spit, and rush towards the spider. "This crystal is more than fine enough to slice your body into half!" It bites at me again, but I jump over it and swing the Leviathan from above like a pendulum. I fall back down on the spider and jump back to Link once I do. The spider chokes as its body falls apart. I smirk and turn to Link, brushing the hair out of my face. "And yes, I'm okay."

Link stares at me. I raise an eyebrow at him, as always. "What is it?" "You have.." He points to the upper right side of my face where I brushed the hair away from earlier. I raise the other eyebrow this time, and he smiles lightly. He shakes his head and takes his hat off, using it to wipe my forehead. He then shows me the slime he wiped off my face. I look to my hands, the source of the slime, and realize that the source of the slime on my hands is the Leviathan.

Oh.

I did not notice that the Deku Baba's blood had spilled all over my weapon and had spread to my hands. "..." "You're welcome," Link grins, puts his hat back on, and walks past the spider. I follow him speechlessly, and watch him light four torches at the edges of the platform. The ground shakes, and I look ahead. A path to the platform across us has opened. I run to the other platform, but stop. "How did you take the lantern from me?"

"It fell off your pouch when you fell down the stairs." He explains, and hands me back the lantern. "Sorry." Taking it, I ignore his apology and put the lantern back into my pouch. He says nothing and opens the chest by the door. "A dungeon map," He shows me. Twists and turns everywhere... Temples are troublesome.

I try to keep my hair from going wild as we enter the 'room', but to no avail. The wind is out of control! The female monkey from earlier makes sounds (as she always does), and points across a bridge. A bigger monkey, a baboon which is supposedly her leader, stands there. "He must have what Midna wants," I say, and turn to step onto the bridge. "Maeva," Link grabs my shoulders and pulls me down. "Link, what are you-" The wind howls as the monkey's leader howls, and he throws something at us. It is a boomerang.. And apparently, he was aiming at the bridges. The winds, violent as they were already, get even more violent and cut the cords on the bridge off, deferring the path to him.

"What's going on?" Midna asks me. "I was about to ask the same question," I frown. "That monkey which I thought to be the leader.. " "Maybe they had a monkey fight?" Midna suggests. "In this state, we can't go any further. We might as well go back and look for another way there."

"There is no other way," I frown.

"Then _make_ one," Midna orders, and leaves once more. Some days...

We leave the area and go back to the room with the platforms. Running to the center platform, the monkey beckons to us again. Once we arrive where she is, she jumps onto the cord and hangs upside down on her tail. I stare at her incredulously. "What does this monkey expect us to achieve by her swinging there?" Link looks to me, then to the monkey, who waves her arms in mid-air. Link bites his lip and jumps off the platform like a lunatic. To my surprise, he is caught by the monkey, who throws him to the platform to the west (that is, if you are facing the door with the broken bridge area). I stand at the edge where Link jumped earlier, and Link waves at me from across. "It's safe!" He says. "Trust me."

Highly unlikely.

The monkey smiles at me and 'speaks' as if I could understand her. What a pity. "I will jump," I frown. "But for the monkey, and not because you have my reliance!" I do not close my eyes (although I want to). Instead, I bite my lip hard and jump. The monkey catches me and throws me at the platform. Link catches me and sets me down. "I told you it was safe."

"I knew it was," I retort, and enter the next room. To the right, there is a disgusting looking insect (then again, what insect did not look disgusting?) which I had seen in the previous room (but ignored because they did not seem to be threatening). Link advances and strikes it, but it does not die quickly. It slowly starts to glow red, and my eyes widen. "Move," I say, and in about six or seven seconds, it explodes. The boulder behind it explodes as well, and there are pots behind where the boulder used to be.

Pots that are available for **looting**.

"Another one," Link points to a hole on the ground, and something small crawls out of it- another one of those insects! How disgusting. I run past the insect as fast as I can and grab all the pots I can possibly loot. Which is four. I throw them to Link, who catches them all. I run back, the insect ignoring me (was that all a waste of time, then..?), and pick three pots for rupees. As I am about to pick the last pot, it shakes and all of a sudden, breaks. I back off warily and so does Link. "Phew! Out at last!" A chicken-looking _object_ says, except it has the face of a human being. Shall I say it? Dis- "Gracious.." It wipes its forehead. "Once I got in there, I couldn't squeeze back out!" The object turns to me. "You were a big help... Thanks!"

I look to Link oddly, who simply stares at the object in curiosity. Seeing no hope in him, I look to the object. "You are.. Welcome..?"

"Yes, yes..." The object nods, looking around. "I've been looking for something in here, you see. Gracious, yes! You must need something here, too. Shall we try working together for a while, fellow adventurer?" Fellow adventurer? I think not.

"You may not think I look like much, but I can be quite helpful!"

"I see, how-"

"I can even warp you out of here if you want to leave!"

"No thank-"

"So don't think of me as a burden!" Of course not. "Now let's get started! My name is Oocoo!" It flaps its wings and jumps onto my shoulder, resting its head at the base of my neck. I look to Link, hiding the horrid expression I truly wish to show. He just bites his lip and represses something which I recognize to be a smile of _amusement_. Amusement!? "Well," he motions to the left path of the room, switching from biting his upper lip to biting his lower lip. "We should get going."

I am not amused.

Link burns a spiderweb which was in our way to enter the area. The monkey leads us to the opposite end of the area where there is another monkey, and the two start to cower. "Hmm, what's wrong with her?" Oocoo asks me. It isn't any consolation, but its voice is softer and less ear-piercing. "Link, stay. I will go through this door." I tell him, and give him no chance to refuse as I enter the area. The wind howls here once more, and the bridges on the way to the other room move along with it. There is a pattern in which the wind blows, and.. "1, 2, 3, RUN!" Oocoo shrieks into my ear, and I run at top speed due to my surprise. I 'glare' at Oocoo, who has now clawed its way onto my head.

"Heh, that was close, wasn't it?" Oocoo laughs nervously, resting itself on my head. I refuse to be a nest, yet I have no choice. Hm, now my hair makes me look like a witch. As if it isn't unruly enough already, and as if I do not looked cursed enough as it is. "If you hadn't screamed my eardrums off, I could have timed it and you would not have had to cling to my scalp for dear life."

"Oh well, better that than never, I always say!" Oocoo chuckles to itself again, trying to make the situation seem better than it is. I ignore it and enter the next room. To my immediate right, there is a chest. "Open it, open it!" Oocoo jumps. I growl softly and do so. A Small Key! This will certainly be useful. And I found it instead of that chosen hero. I go back two rooms (this time timing the bridges and the wind right, but Oocoo still clings to my scalp, which is probably bleeding internally at the moment) and see Link with a smile. "I found more Rupees," he tells me.

"And _I_ found a key," I smirk, showing it to him. "Great!" He does not stop smiling as he takes his slingshot out and aims at the ceiling. I look up and realize that the monkeys were cowering at another enormous spider, quite similar to the one I destroyed earlier. Link fires two pebbles at it, and it falls into the water... And dies. He turns to me as the two monkeys position themselves to throw us to the other side, and I want to slap that smile off his delicate face. "Shall we?"

We head up the staircase (after another nauseating chance to experience being thrown around by monkeys), which leads to yet another area. Across us from the top of the stairs is a monkey trapped in a cage. "Oh no! We have to save that poor monkey!" Oocoo gasps, and Link nods in reply. Oh, yes. **We**. I follow Link down the stairs and to the pillar where the monkey is. How did whoever did this even manage to place the cage there, balanced perfectly? It must have been something tall.. An ogre, perhaps. A formidable enemy.

Rolling into the pillar, Link holds his head as he sits upright. "What was that?" I give him a look which says 'you are a terrible idiot'. "Why do you insist on hurting yourself when you can do this?" I take the Leviathan and swing it at the pillar. I never thought I would use the Leviathan for _this_, but if it is to prove Link wrong, then... After swinging at the pillar a few times, the cage falls off the pillar. Link successfully catches it and sets it down; Oocoo starts to cheer on my head. Hair, rather. Link starts destroying the cage, and Oocoo once more jumps on my head. "Bokoblins! Bokoblins!" It says, and I look up. Not ogres, nothing formidable.. Simply bokoblins. The princess told me about them.

Link looks to me worriedly, and I look from the monkey to him. "Free the monkey; I will take care of these insignificances." I run up the stairs before they can jump down from the ledges and hurl the Leviathan through their stomachs. Oh, not again... I must remember to stop doing that. Now I will have to clean the Leviathan once more. Unless... Hmm.

I believe I have discovered a new use for Oocoo.

Speaking of the hybrid, it points to the monkeys, who pull Link up the ledge. I follow them through the areas as they return to the main room (with the center platform and four doors). This time, the monkeys take us to the eastern platform. We enter the area. Tall ledges surround us, but there is a flight of stairs in front of us. Link quickly runs to the stairs and calls for me, but as I walk over, another Deku Baba rises from the ground. I hack it off its stem and it falls to the ground. I smirk and turn to Link, but Oocoo suddenly shouts, "Not Deku Baba! Baba Serpent!" My eyes widen as I see the Baba Serpent hurdling itself at me, but in a second, it is withering on the ground. I take a deep breath. "Wow! That was certainly quick of you," Oocoo sighs in relief. "I thought we were serpent sushi!" What's sushi?

"Now, aren't you going to thank the young man?" Oocoo asks, tapping my head with its foot lightly. Link simply smiles (I don't even have to say it, because you must know that he's already doing so) and sheathes his sword. "Yes, thanks," I mumble, stopping myself from ripping Oocoo apart with my Leviathan. After all, he is still supposed to clean it. I stomp past Link and up the stairs, passing by a plant which had a toothy maw on top. It looked like an.. Like a very ugly shrub flower. If those don't exist, they must now. At the top of the stairs, a familiar hole is in front of me, and so is a familiar bug.

I stare at it and it makes a clicking sound, its eyes shifting from left to right. Link, Link, Link. Is this all everyone ever thinks about? I stomp towards the bombling (as Oocoo has just shrieked) and it takes a few step backwards, its spindly legs wobbling so much that they look like they'll give way. I grab it by its head in annoyance, and it starts glowing. "Maeva...!" Link holds my arm again, but I elbow him, wishing to scream at him.

"Vexatious insect!" I grit my teeth and throw the bombling as far as I can. "Eeek!" Oocoo jumps down digs its claws into my shoulder as the plant from earlier stretches upward and swallows the insect. What just.. I slowly walk over to the edge, and just in time too, because the plant suddenly explodes. I close my eyes in disgust and wipe my face with my arms. Blood and ashes. Why..? Why me? No matter. If I take all the damage, then I would be able to take all the credit, yes?

I feel much better. I turn around to smirk at Link and Midna, but Link is already running past me carrying a bombling in his arm! "Great idea, Maeva!" He gives me a thumb-up and turns back to the path. He jumps across the small gap and throws the bombling at the boulder blocking the way. "Run, run, run!" Oocoo shouts, jumping on my shoulder. Link nods and runs a yard away. He then ducks and covers his head.

**KABOOM!**

How unsettling. I jump across the gap as well, and tap Link on the head (as he is still ducking and covering). "Come, the path is cleared." ...Why did I do that? How idiotic of me. Though I suppose he would've realized that the path was already cleared later on. _But_ I could have finished business here **myself**! How idiotic of me.

In this area, there are two pillars standing in front of the ledge. The pillar to my left has a chest. Now, to get what is inside... I walk down the stairs and over to the pillar, the Leviathan in my hands. I swing the Leviathan at the cobweb-covered pillar, and I can almost feel the weight lifted off it. "Ack!" I hear at the opposite side of the pillar. What? I walk around it and find Link with the chest in his hands. "Wonderful, the young man caught it!"

I will reserve my comments for that as of now. For now, Link stares at me pleadingly, his knees looking as if they are about to buckle. I sigh, and tap the floor with my foot. "Let go." He drops it forward and it opens itself. Another small key. I take it and walk forward, to the bridge leading to the other side. Another key or another monkey, perhaps? I step onto the bridge, and I hear Link's footsteps following. "Mae-!" I turn around and glare at him, ignoring the handsome creases his eyebrows create, in confusion or annoyance, maybe.

"Yes, Link. I know how to cross a bridge. I also know how to walk, if you have not noticed. I also know how to fight. So if it does not bother you so-!!" I make no sound as I am thrown off the bridge and against the stairs. "Ugh..." I slowly sit up, and I don't know if I should stretch my back or not. "I was going to tell you about that," Link runs towards me. "Are you-"

"Do I look it, Link!?"

He takes a step back in surprise. "Do I look as if I am 'all right' to you? Cease these useless questions! You already know the answers!" I shout, and stomp my way towards the bri- "What the-??" I am thrown back once more, but this time I merely hit the ground. If that was a mere kind of action.

"Maeva!" I hear, and I stand to see that Link has already crossed the bridge. "Just wait there... Okay?" "There is no way that I-" "I think you should," Oocoo interrupts me. How dare it! "I get hurt when you're thrown across too, you know. You think it's easy clutching on to you for dear life?"

---------------------

I was going to finish the whole Forest Temple yesterday, but then I decided to go to the Temple of Time instead. Meaning, play! (: I apologize. Until next time, friends!


	4. Monkey?

Maeva, a young woman taken in by Zelda, values the princess more than anyone else. When sent to follow Link in hopes of a better future for all those who have fallen into the twilight, she decides SHE will save the _princess _and Hyrule. It becomes a race against time and a race against Link, but as time passes, will she learn to accept him? Rather, will he learn to accept what she is? Follows LoZ:TP.

**AnimeFreak2306: Haha, yeah, complete opposites. XD I'm glad I made him talk, too. I can't imagine him not speaking now. O.o**

**Nijigasumi: I'll try:D **

**EverLasting1: Thank you! I'm sorry it took me so long to update.**

Thank you for the reviews, everyone! I'm sorry I can't make it any more interesting, though. My writing's kinda stagnant, I know. Oh, well. Here you go, and thank you for your time!

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I growl to myself and start walking back up the stairs. "Where do you think you're going?" Ooccoo asks. "Somewhere away from you two," I mutter, and remove him from my head. "You, stay here." "What? But-"

"Stay here since you love him so much. I will be back.. Shortly." I throw Ooccoo to the ground from the top of the stairs, but he doesn't crash and break his bones like I want him to. "How rude!" Ooccoo pouts. I roll my eyes and leave the area, going back to the room where those bomblings and those bombling-eating plants were. Are. Be quiet.

I turn to my left and find some vines to climb on. I walk forward, but there are spiders inhabiting them. I raise my hand up, and spheres rise up from my shadow. Or am I my own shadow? Such trivial things shouldn't be troubled over, I guess. The spheres shape themselves into arrows, and pierce through the spiders. The spiders fall to the ground, and there is nothing more to worry about. I jump onto the vines, climb up, and enter the door.

...What is that?

An enormous plant stands in the middle of the huge room. Must everything be large here? Pots surround the room, and a few familiar looking holes are on the ground. Bomblings. They stand on their seemingly unstable legs, warily watching me from their positions. I carefully walk by the side of the room, avoiding the bomblings, but the plant makes an ear-piercing sound and lunges its head at me. I jump back and realize that it is hostile.

Must everything be hostile here?

I ready the Leviathan and walk a bit towards it, and.. Ha! I jump at it and thrust the Leviathan into its head. It must be dead, correct?

Wrong.

It starts lashing its head in different directions, perhaps trying to get me to let go. I hold steadily, its blood seeping out of its wound. My eyes widen as it throws its head backwards, nearly crushing me to the ground. I pull the Leviathan out as it pulls its head back. Ugh.. My back.. No matter. If I defeat this enemy, then I can help save the princess more! Correct?

I waste no time trying to pierce it once more (and risking myself crushed) and throw the Leviathan at its stem, forcing it to come off. Just like the Baba Serpent, it starts crawling around and it bites at me. I start running, looking from left to right. Ugh, we're going around in circles! I feel pathetic... Wait. Link isn't here. I jump up and across its base (which is in the middle of the room), hold my hand up once more, and just as it is about to mutilate me..

"Guaaaaakh!"

I never knew anything could make such a sound. Shadows appear under it, wrapping themselves around what is left of its stem and its bulb. This, of course, will be our little secret, so mention nothing of what I did earlier and have just done to Link.

I take a deep breath, but realize that it isn't over yet. The base is still alive. Oh, well. There is an easy solution. I take a bombling, run across the room, grab another bombling, and throw the two at the base. As I expected, the base reaches up and eats the bomblings..

It explodes, naturally.

I take the Small Key at the edge of the room, free the monkey, leave the room, jump down the vines, and enter the area where I last left Link and Ooccoo. The monkey follows suit. "There you are! We were getting worried!" Ooccoo says, jumping onto me again. I sigh. There is no getting rid of this thing, is there?

"We freed another as well," Link shows me something that was hiding behind him. "Ooh ooh ahh!" The monkey behind me makes a sound, and he and the other monkey behind Link hug. "Look at these monkeys, so happy that they're together again! You two should be more like that," Ooccoo shakes its head. I ignore it and motion for everyone to follow me back to the central room. "Where to?" Link asks.

"I believe we have enough monkeys. We should go to that windy area," I point to the first path we opened up. We enter the area once more, and I was correct. Of course. The monkeys hang themselves on the rope (that sounds rather odd) leading to the area despite the strong wind. Can I stand it as well as they can?

"Maeva!" Someone is waving at me from the other side. My eyes widen. Link?! "Come on!" He calls. "I carried Ooccoo for you!" Why did he do that? Does he think that I cannot carry Ooccoo on my own? Hmph! "It's because Link's a nice boy! A nice boy!" Ooccoo shrieks. I look away in annoyance, pretending not to hear them. Well, I suppose I should go... Or Link will save the princess without me! And that will be unacceptable.

I close my eyes and jump, my arms reaching out for the monkey in front of me. The monkey surprisingly catches me. I gasp as they fling me into the air, one by one, then land... On Link. Link falls to the ground on his bottom. _Oof!_ I quickly get off him and dust myself. "Thank you," I say to the monkeys, who wave at me. I turn to Link. "What are you waiting for? Come!"

"Y-yes, sorry," Link quickly stands up and takes Ooccoo. I nod and open the door- let's try that again. I open the door- Grr. The door won't open. "Let me try," Link says from behind me. I step aside in annoyance as he walks forward and opens the door, seemingly with effortless ease. I hide my envy for now and enter.

This area is bigger than I expected, I must admit. In the center of the room (which is irregularly shaped), multiple pillars stand apart from each other, and only one pillar is in the middle. I walk forward unsurely. Where is that baboon leader? I look around, but there is no trace of him.

"Bruwulaaahh!"

My eyes widen at the sound. I look to the direction from whence it came- a hole (high) in the wall across me. From the hole swings the baboon, and he looks even more of a menace than he did earlier. Is it the darkness taking over? I throw my spear at him nonetheless. The baboon shrieks- curses, he dodged my attack. He jumps around the pillars, doing an odd dance. "What in the world is he doing?" I raise an eyebrow, taking a step back.

"I... don't know," Link shakes his head with a confused look on his face. Suddenly, the baboon throws the boomerang he was holding (which I didn't notice before, as he was dancing) and throws it up in the air.

"You missed," I smirk, holding my hand out to Link. "Slingshot."

He takes the slingshot out of his pocket (it seems to be able to hold quite a lot of objects) and hands it to me, along with the pebble satchel. I ready the slingshot and throw it at the baboon, but something shrieks above me. "Maeva, above you!" Ooccoo screams. I look up with my eyes widened, and I come face to face with a Baba Serpent. I step aside just in time, but the Baba Serpent (now wriggling on the floor) turns to me, drool sliipping out of its sharp teeth. It jumps my ankle, biting and licking at it. "Agh!" I cringe. I can feel my blood leaving me. I start hitting the Baba Serpent with the slingshot (as shaking it off didn't work), but that does not seem to work.

To my surprise, Link takes his sword and cleaves it down to the Baba Serpent's head. As it dies, its grip on me loosens and finally, it lets go. "Are you all-" Links stops and looks away. "Mm.. Never mind. Stay here, please." Link tells me, then rushes at the baboon. What does he mean by 'stay'? I am not an animal that he can.. that he can order around! I glare at Link has he chases the baboon around the pillars. He hits the pillar the baboon stops at, and the baboon falls. He manages to swipe at the baboon with his sword a few times, but the baboon does another odd dance and gets back up on the pillars.

I lean on a nearby pillar and slowly stand. I refuse to let a mere Serpent's bite hinder me from saving the princess! I reach down to take the slingshot from the ground, but the wound on my ankle is stretched. I bite my lip and hiss involuntarily. Link, meanwhile, manages to knock the baboon off another pillar. I must take my attention off him, though, when I realize something- my face is wet. I look up, and I don't know whether I should be scared or angry. Baba Serpents are all over the ceiling, snapping their drooling jaws at me.

All right, I'll choose anger.

"That.." I closed my eyes in fury, reaching down and grabbing the slingshot. I ignored the pain for now. "Is so.." I aimed at the ceiling. "DISGUSTING!"

I shoot all the pebbles I can at the Baba Serpent's heads instead of at their stems. They must die whilst they hang from there. I keep shooting at them until Ooccoo starts screaming my name. I ignore him, but then he nips at my ankle. "Ouch!" I pull it away, creating even more pain. "Why in the name of Nayru would you do that?!"

"You're out of bullets, girl, stop firing like you're crazy!" Ooccoo answers. I stop and peek into the pebble satchel. No more pebbles...

"I knew that," I mutter. "I was just.. trying to... I was practicing my aim. Yes." I nod to myself, "Practicing my aim."

I then remember the human. I turn to Link. He hits the baboon in the head with the hilt of his sword, and the baboon's eyes suddenly no longer look... deranged. The baboon drops the boomerang he was holding, does another dance for us, and runs off. I blink. Well, that was odd. Link turns around to face me and smiles, "We did it!"

"I feel special now," I mutter. He doesn't hear this, to my chagrin, and continues to smile as he walks towards me. "Can you walk?"

"I can barely move an inch, Link. Yes, I can walk."

Link laughs nervously, "Sorry."

I roll my eyes inwardly. He holds his hand out to me. "Come on, I'll... help you walk."

"Why?"

"Because.." He looks around for an answer. "..you can't walk?"

"Hmph," I reply, and take his hand. Reluctantly, of course. I take a step forward with my left foot and land on it with ease, but once I lift my right (which is where the Baba Serpent bit me) and land it, I hiss once more and involuntarily lean on Link (this is a given, of course, as I would never voluntarily lean on him). I release his hand from mine and take one more step with my left foot. I take another with my right. I nearly fall, but Link catches me by the arm and helps me up. "It's okay, Maeva," Link smiles. "I really don't mind."

Oh, but I do. I really do.

He _makes_ me lean on his arm as I walk, but then I step on something. "Ow," it says. I raise an eyebrow and take a step back. Ouch. I look down and blink again. "It's the boomerang!" Ooccoo says.

I move to pick it up, but Link stops me and picks it up himself. He turns to show it to me, but it floats away from his grasp. "I am the Fairy of Winds who resides in this boomerang. You have freed me from evil, and I now have my true power back. Please... Take it with you, use it to aid your quest, and may both my power and my blessing go with you. If you focus power in your boomerang before releasing it, it will unleash the power of wind, aiding you in unforeseen ways."

"All right," I say, and take it from the air. "Here, you may have.. her." I tell Link and hand it to him. Link stares at me. "You don't want it- er, her?"

"You need her more than I do, Link," I smirk. "Also, I have no bags to put her in. My pouch is full. You carry her." I look around. "Now where is that Leviathan?"

"Here it is!" A small voice says. I look up and see the Leviathan floating over me. Wh-what kind of magic is this?!

The Leviathan is dropped onto my hands and something light on my shoulder. It cannot be Ooccoo, as.. I look to my shoulder. My mouth is wide open this time. It's a.. It's a head! With wings..?

"Hello!" It smiles at me. "I'm Ooccoo Junior!"

"You are his son?" I ask, pointing to Ooccoo.

"Not really," Ooccoo Junior giggles.

"Then what are you?"

"I'm her daughter!"

"You are female?!" I look to Ooccoo.

"Well, yes! What did you think I was?" _She_ replies, giving me an odd look.

"Well, I thought you were male, of course!"

Suddenly, Midna appears from Link's shadow and sighs. "All right, now we know what everyone's gender really is. Can we please move on? I mean, I bet even the monkeys are satisfied now. Let's continue combing this place. We already found that Gale Boomerang, so let's keep searching places we haven't looked yet. Right, Maeva?"

"Y-yes," I nod, holding the Leviathan with a tight grip. "Right."

"Maeva," Midna scolds me with a frown.

I stand up straight and raise an eyebrow at her. "What?"

Midna smiles. "Good. Now get going!" She returns to Link's shadow and I sigh inwardly. "You heard her."

Link nods and turns around to walk away, but after a few steps, he turns back around. "Your ankle." I stand there and glare at him. "So you noticed. Go ahead and leave me, I can take care of myself." I mutter, taking a seat on the ground. I place my hand on my shirt and get ready to rip a piece of it off, but Link stops me. I glare at him once more. "What is it now?"

He crouches in front of me and takes a bottle from his pocket. It is the potion he had refilled by that shrill voiced bird earlier. He opens the bottle and pours a bit of the sticky goo on his palm. "You can drink this, but you can do this, too," he tells me, and spreads the goo on my ankle area with his hands. His hands are rough, but... I look up from my ankle to watch his features as he tears a piece of his own tunic off to wrap around my ankle. Link... He certainly is caring. And his eyes...

"Okay, done. Maeva?"

His eyes are...

"Maeva?" Link shakes me back from my thoughts.

"What? I was not looking at you! Why would I be looking at you?" I scoff, standing up. I look back down to my ankle. It's.. It's fine!

"Um, okay," Link places the bottle back into his pocket. "Can you walk now?"

"Walk? I can run!" That potion is very effective. I run to the door and look back to Link. "Well? Must you always take so long?"

We head back to the main room, and once there, we turn to the left room. The winds howl here, but not as much as before. We cross a revolving bridge, whose base I have to hold onto for dear life. The bridge supposedly connected to this one is facing the other way. "How do we get across?" I shout to Link as I hold Ooccoo Junior in my hand. She had almost been blown away.

Link's smile dissipates into a look that actually makes it seem as if he's thinking, then lifts the Gale Boomerang. He throws it at the windmill at the very top of the bridge's base, and suddenly, the bridge rotates to connect with the one we are currently on. His face suddenly has a smile again. "It worked!" Really? I did not notice.

I say nothing to him to avoid feeling even more annoyed with him, and step onto the next bridge. There's a mon- "Monster!" Ooccoo Junior's mouth tickles my hand as it opens. I look up and see a Bokoblin running at me with a spear. I raise my own spear and pierce the Bokoblin with it as it tries to get near me. I step on its body and pull the Leviathan out. I wipe my spear against the Bokoblin's corpse as Link throws his boomerang at the rope holding the monkey's cage. I frown. So that boomerang is useful... But I cannot go back on my word now that I have given it to Link. Damn it all.

The newly freed monkey jumps back to the door we entered from, waving a thank you at us (at least, that is how I saw it) before leaving. Midna appears from Link's shadow. "Well, I guess there are still some monkeys you haven't freed yet! At this point, you should just save them all and see what you can get for it!"

"An honorable cause," I look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm sure you think so," Midna giggles before returning to Link's shadow.

"Well, let's move forward," Link says. He still thinks he can order me around? "Ow!" Ooccoo Junior cries as I clench my fist. "I'm sorry." I apologize, and lessen the grip I have on her. "Be careful with her!" Ooccoo shouts from below Link's hat. "I will," I answer. Ooccoo may be a bit of a nuisance, but her daughter can be useful and shrieks less. Her voice may actually be called.. cute.

"Wait, let's turn back." Link says. "We might be going into the same area we did before."

"And how would you come upon that information?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Um.." Link takes another thing out of his pocket and shows it to me. It's the dungeon map. "We're here at the moment," he points to a certain area. "The path we're on leads... here. We already entered that area when we rescue a monkey, do you remember?"

I realize that our shoulders are touching and quickly move away from him. "Of course I remember," I look away, then look back. "Wait. I remember that room. Give me the boomerang."

"Hm? Why?"

"Just give it to me," I hold my hand out for the boomerang, and he slowly places it in my hand. After a few looks, he opens the door for me, and I arrive at a room. _That_ room. I raise the boomerang in the air and aim at the tiles which kept throwing me back earlier. "I just came to say goodbye!" I laugh, and throw the boomerang at the tiles. The tiles are blown away by the wind, and below the tiles are worms which scream in pain before they fall into the water and die. I sigh contentedly and smile, tossing the boomerang back to Link before returning to our previous location. I turn to Link.

"So what is our destination now?" Not that I do not know. He's just the one who has the map.

"I guess we should go here... I saw a closed gate there earlier," Link says, trying to show me the map again, but I step away from him as he steps towards me. "Yes, we'll go there," I say nervously. Nervously? I take Ooccoo Junior and jump back to the first bridge, then to the stable path leading to the door. Oh, never again shall I wish to leave the stable ground! I run to the door, but then I realize that I cannot open doors here. For an odd, possibly evil reason.

After Link opens the door, we head back for the main room (specifically the center platform). "Ooh! Look!" Ooccoo Junior says, flying from my hand to my shoulder. "What is it?" I ask. Ooccoo Junior flies up and calls, "Here!"

I look up and see a chest hanging from the ceiling directly above me. My eyes widen and I step aside. "Can you bite it?" I say to Ooccoo Junior.

"She doesn't have teeth!" Ooccoo suddenly speaks.

"Yes, she does," I say. "I saw them. And look," I raise my palm for them to see. "She bit me with them by accident earlier."

"Well," Ooccoo frowns worriedly. "She's only a few months old. Don't make her use them yet."

"All right, all right," I mutter. "Ooccoo Junior, come back here."

"Okay, Maeva!" She replies, flying back down to my shoulder.

"It's fine," Link says to me. Did he see the annoyed look on my face? Not that I had one... Link throws the boomerang into the air again, and it hits the web connecting the chest to the ceiling.

"Ack!"

Link catches the chest, and his knees look as if they are about to buckle.. Again. "I never instructed you to catch it, and neither did Midna." I tell him. "Let go."

"Thanks," Link grunts, and lets out a sigh of relief as he drops the chest. It opens, and I take its 'treasure'. "Well, if it isn't something useful," Midna appears again. "As long as you have that, you should be able to find where the captured monkeys are, right? I guess in order for us to check the temple out completely, we need the help of the monkeys. Ah, well..." Midna shrugs. "Let's help the rest of them!"

"Let's," I replied, flipping the compass open. "Now, how exactly do we go about rescuing these monkeys?" I ask Midna.

"How should I know?" Midna giggles. "Think, Maeva. Think!" She disappears again.

I sigh. She always tells me to do that, yet.. Well, just look where I am now. Stuck with a human and trying to help monkeys. "Maybe we should go there," Link points to the door on the left (we are facing the room where we retrieved the Gale Boomerang). "What do you think?"

"If you are saying that to anger me, it isn't working," I say to him. "But perhaps we should." The monkeys run to the rope to help us across, and I jump. I feel much better jumping this short distance, as compared to the distance earlier. Now that was terrifying. ...Not that I was terrified, I just thought.. Never mind.

"But Maeva, I wasn't-"

"Just come here, Link," I sigh. I dislike excuses. "Please."

We are in another area that we were in earlier. That one area where the monkey was cowering. I jump across the platforms and arrive at the locked gate Link mentioned earlier. How do we open it? There are no keyholes. Surrounding us are four pillars with small windmills above them (similar to the ones on the bases of the bridges). Link throws the Gale Boomerang at the pillar southwest us. Once it hits the windmill, it moves to the right, then to the pillar northwest us, then to the right again. It lands back in Link's hands once the gate lifts itself. I look to Link. "How did you do that, Link?" Ooccoo asks, beating me to the question. Not that I was going to ask him anything.

"W..ell, there was an inverted Z on the floor, so I just thought it would work."

"Good job!" Ooccoo congratulates him. Oh yes, great job. I rolled my eyes to myself as I open the chest. A big key! Bigger than all the other ones we found before... Will this lead to the object Midna seeks? No matter. I know where to go. I jump back a few platforms and face the door leading to another area, collecting a few pebbles on the way. Link opens the door to the new area and we cross the bridge. The next bridge is, again, facing the opposite direction. Link uses the Gale Boomerang to alter this, and two Bokoblins come running. I take the slingshot out, and with my newly collected pebbles, I shoot them inbetween their foreheads. They fall to the ground, and I turn to Link. "Deal the finishing blow and we can move on."

Link nods and jumps into the air, raising his sword, then lands on the Bokoblin as he stabs it in the heart. He does the same for the other Bokoblin, then turns to me as he wipes his sword. "Let's go?" I nod, concealing my surprise. I knew he was able to use a weapon, but I did not know that he was actually good at it. "_I thought you were clueless when it came to any other weapon?_" Midna suddenly says (in our language) from Link's shadow. Link stops, looking down. "Move along," I tell him. He slowly nods and turns to walk again. I face his shadow, seeing Midna's eyes. "_The Leviathan is still my preferred weapon. I just didn't want to have to clean it up again after I destroyed those two._"

Midna doesn't reply, and I bother no more. Link suddenly rotates the bridge back to its original position. "What are you-" I stop as I see two doors to our left and right. "-waiting for?" I run to the right door. "The quicker we rescue the monkeys and find what it is Midna is searching for, the quicker we can part ways."

Link smiles at me. "But Maeva, I don't-"

"Door, please."

Link's breath hitches for a moment, but he soon nods and opens the door. This area has-

"SPIDER!" Ooccoo Junior screams.

I look ahead and find two spiders who, for some reason, look exactly the same as the spiders I encountered earlier on. The stripes they have on their backs never cease to disgust me..

_"What are you planning?" I ask him, trying to hide a grin from my face as we walk through the stables. He said that he had a surprise for me earlier. Is it a creature from the light? I would love to see one of those._

_"Wait and see," he laughs, keeping his hands over my eyes. "I bought them especially for you, Maeva."_

_I bite my lip in embarrassment. "You didn't have to do that... My mother can-"_

_"No," he whispers in my ear. "I don't care. This is /i my i gift for you."_

_He lifts his hands from my eyes, and I gasp at the sight in front of me. "They're.." Striped hogs... Or were they boars? I force a smile onto my face. I cannot hurt his feelings just because his gift looks odd! "They're beautiful." They look like lice in the shape of a pig.. _

"Maeva!"

I fall on my posterior in surprise as Ooccoo Junior screams in my face. "What is it?" I realize the situtation. "The spiders!"

"Actually, they're gone," Ooccoo Junior giggles. "Link got rid of them! He's so brave..."

"Psh," I snort inaudibly (hopefully inaudible to Ooccoo Junior, at least) and look around, spotting two very bloody and (indeed) dead spiders. Rotting spiders... Where is Link?

"Hurry, Link, I hate dark places!" I hear from a hole in the ground. Ah, Ooccoo. I certainly hope her daughter does not take after her.

"Let us go, then," I smile to Ooccoo Junior, who nods with her whole body. She perches herself on my shoulder and we go towards the hole.

"Hah!" A familiar voice comes to my attention, and I look to the ground ahead of me. Well, not ground. Head. "...Link."

With a monkey on his head.

The monkey does a dance on Link's head (I suppose I can't call it odd anymore, as almost all of the monkeys do that dance) before running off. "You're back..." Link grunts, trying to get up from the hole. "Wait for me!" I hear, and Ooccoo suddenly jumps on top of Link's head. "Oh, Junior! You brought her back!" Ooccoo says as she sees me, then jumps off Link.

The two Ooccoo start speaking with each other, and I am left in Link's presence. He sighs exasperatedly and leans his head on the ground. I almost feel pity for the man. Almost.

Still.. I don't want to be as heartless as _him_. I reluctantly hold my hand out to Link. "Do you need help?" Ah! So the human needs help. Surely I will get credit for helping him in his time of need.. Correct?

"Thanks," Link reaches up and takes my hand. He is heavier than I expected. I pull him up, and soon he is out of the hole. "Where do you want to go next?" he asks me, pulling the map out of his pocket.

I raise an eyebrow at him. "Since when has it mattered where I want to go?"

"Uh..." He looks around shiftily before landing his eyes on me. "Heh?" He smiles nervously and shrugs.

"Ugh," I turn away in disgust and walk towards the door. "We'll go to the other side of the bridge. Hurry."

Link is a bit faster now. He takes Ooccoo in his arms and automatically opens the door. We cross the bridge, and...

"Die, Deku Baba!" Ooccoo Junior shouts, and suddenly the Deku Baba in front of us has my Leviathan lodged in its head. I blink. "How did that.. Never mind." I shake my head and take the Leviathan from the plant's bleeding head. The child is a natural. I walk forward to destroy another plant with the Leviathan, but Ooccoo Junior stops me. "What is it?" I ask. Ooccoo Junior flies towards the plant I was about to slash at, but a huge plant nears itself to bite at Ooccoo Junior.

"Eep!" she screams, and flies herself back to me.

"Oh, it's that plant," I nod. "Thank you, Ooccoo Junior." Ooccoo Junior smiles at me in reply. I look around and frown. There is no way we can defeat this plant without a Bombling... And there aren't any Bomblings I can grab and throw at it. Seeing the look on my face, Link lights up. Does he wish for me to be confused? Why that-

"I have an idea," Link tells me. I stare at him expectantly, and he shows me the Gale boomerang. He points it towards something in the north, and when it comes back...

"A Bombling?" My eyes widen. "Link, get that away from me!"

"Oops!" Link's eyes bulge as well, and he instantly shoots it into the plant. It explodes after a few seconds, and I glare at Link as I pant. "Must you be so reckless?"

"But I-"

"You creatures of the light are all the same.." I mutter, turning around and stepping over the dead plant's slimy remains. I kick the chest in front of me open in annoyance, and inside it is a small key. Well, more for the useless collection, I suppose. I take the key and wave it in Link's face. "Is there anything else we need to do here, oh reckless one?"

Link looks away, but when he turns back to me, he has another one of his annoyingly bright smiles. "I think so! Now I have a better idea." He throws the boomerang into the north again, and it doesn't come back after a few seconds. I roll my eyes and run up the staircase to my left.

KABOOM!

...Again. If I am lucky, it is Link who exploded.

Wait, the Princess seems to like him, so I suppose that has to be a joke.

"Hmm?" Ahead is a pile of rocks with a dead.. Oh, so this is where that other Bombling Link took landed. I shrug and enter the area. After all, _we_ are together on this 'mission', so I'm sure he can catch up. He is the chosen one, after all. Hmph.

_Drip.._

_Drip..._

My face is wet aga- I freeze in fear- no, not fear... Just disgust. I close my eyes as more saliva falls onto my clothing. "Not again!" I shout with a cringe as I jump, my Leviathan cutting the Baba Serpents off the ceiling. I stab them all in their faces before they can reach me. I shudder again.

"Maeva!"

I turn around with a look of disappointment on my face. "Oh, you're..." Alive.

"Duck!"

I give him an odd look. "What?"

"I said... Ah, never mind." He suddenly grabs my hand, forcing me to spin around and land in his warm, welcoming arms.

_"Maeva," mother laughs, her hair glistening as she speaks. "You're always cooped up in your room, trying to help with the realm. You need a break."_

_"I do not. I'm perfectly fine helping our kind and I don't need a party or a break!" I frown, stomping my feet as I leave her to speak with her friends. Hmph! I do not need this! Socializing... I have more important matters to attend-_

_Hmm? Very comfortable..._

_"Ah... I'm sorry. You're okay, right?" I pull myself away from the man I bumped into as soon as I realize it. "Y-yes. I apologize."_

_"It's fine," he smiles at me, then holds his hand out to me. "My name is-"_

An explosion takes me back to the real world. "You're okay, right?" Link asks My eyes widen again.

"G-get away from me!" I push him back violently.

"But Maeva, I was just trying to-"

"Do not touch me again," I interrupt him, and a monkey jumps onto me, doing a dance. I sigh. I suppose this is better than him touching me...

We are back at the room where the monkey was cowering earlier. I had suggested entering the northern room in the prevoius area (with the bridge), but Midna was being stubborn and would stop Link every time we tried to enter. So now we are here, watching Ooccoo Junior fumble about with a small key in her mouth. Well, the small key is bigger than her body. Should I correct myself?

"I did it!" she cheers, and the chains on the door are undone. "Didn't I, Maeva?"

"You did," I nod, and I tap my shoulder for her to perch herself on. All right, I admit it. The child has grown on me quickly. I suppose I am desperate for company- and company certainly doesn't include Link and Ooccoo. I do not like this new area. It has tiles. And I highly dislike tiles. "Maybe you should just stay here." Link says to me.

"Maybe you should," I scoff at him. "Is this because of the previous room with the tiles? I can-"

"Actually, that sounds like a pretty good idea." Midna rises from Link's shadow. "Maeva... You and I need to talk."

I look to Ooccoo Junior for consolation, but all she can do is stare at me cluelessly. "All right."

"Okay," Link cracks a smile before taking the Gale Boomerang from his pocket. "I'll be quick."

It doesn't even matter. I snort and take a seat against the wall, watching in fascination as Midna gracefully leaves Link's shadow once more.

I mean, as Midna stumbles to leave Link's shadow.

"Maeva, what did I tell you before we left the realm?" Midna gives me a frown as she walks towards me. I turn to glare at the ground. "I really can't remember, Midna."

"Oh, we're playing that game?" Midna raises an eyebrow. "I'll ask again, Maeva. What did I tell you before we left the realm?"

I sigh in defeat. "You told me... You told me not to show my real emotions. And not to let them control me."

"And what have you been doing?"

I close my eyes in shame. "Disobeying your orders."

I feel Midna's tiny hand on my shoulder. "You have to understand, Maeva. Link is not _him_. They're two completely different people. And although they may be alike in the beginning... Just don't give him such a hard time yet. I want to see how he turns out. Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"What did you say?"

"Nothing you need to hear," I stand from my place and stare Midna down. She grins. "Good."

"Ooh ahh ahh!" I look to my right and see a monkey dancing. Ah, he's finished. "I told you I'd be quick," Link chuckles. I say nothing in reply, and instead follow the monkey out to the previous area. I look up in frustration. Don't give him a hard time yet? But he's so... He's so... Perfect. I try to erase the irritation from my mind and think of other things.

My stomach is rumbling. I haven't eaten in a while, that's right. I hope to find whatever it is Midna is looking for so that I might find something to satisfy my hunger already. "We can go to that other room, now. We have all the monkeys! I'm sure they'll be happy to help us out." Midna snaps me out of my daze.

"Yeah," Link nods in agreement, and Midna dives back into his shadow. We move towards the area Midna was speaking of, and I'm afraid to say that Link is going too fast. Now that I have realized it, my hunger is slowing me down and I have quite a headache...

"Ooh ooh, ahh ahh!"

"Ooh ahh ahh?"

"Ooh ahh ahh ooh ahh!"

"Ooh."

Monkeys blathering on about something I can't understand isn't helping... either... I look around in amazement. All the monkeys we helped are in this gigantic area. There are many platforms connected to the walls, and each monkey has her (or his) own platform. Once they see us, though, they jump off their platforms and land in front of us. They do an amusing dance (which does not help my headache at all), then point to a narrow rope above us.

Please tell me they're not planning what I think they are planning.

"Hey, they're making a huge swing for us to get across!" Midna states the obvious from Link's shadow.

Must she always force me into things I hate getting into?

"They're the only way we have to get across..." Link speaks up, then turns to me. "Can you do it?"

"O-of course I can do it!" I snap at him, then stand at the edge of the cliff as the monkeys start swinging themselves forward and backward. "I can... do it..." Can't I?

"Maeva!"

Link's hand grabs mine, and I look around in surprise. What am I doing here? I look down. A black abyss?

Oh, no.

I gasp and reach for something to hold onto with my left hand. "It's all right, I got you," Link says, and takes my left hand with his free one. He pulls me up to sit on the edge and takes my limp legs as well, preventing them from dangling. "I'm sorry I held you like that earlier. I didn't mean to offend you, really. It meant nothing to me, if that makes the situation better."

I sit up, trying to keep my heart from jumping out of my chest. I couldn't do it. I'm too weak.

"Earlier..." I look to Link's shadow, but Midna does not surface. I turn to Link. "I forgive you."

"Really? That's great!" Link suddenly pulls me on my feet, then gently places me over his shoulder. "Let's cross this abyss together, then!"

"I forgive you, but I never said you could do-"

-he suddenly jumps off the edge, and my heart threatens to rip itself from my chest again-

"-thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiis!" I scream as the monkeys swing us over to the other side. Ooccoo and her daughter follow suit. Link sets me down, and my previously toned down irritation comes back to me. I glare up at Link, still trying to make sure that I am alive. He smiles at me comfortingly now, but...

He is definitely going to die.

--------------------------------------------

I am so sorry this took so long. It's just kinda hard to remember the Forest Temple in LoZ:TP when the last time you saw said dungeon was more than half a year ago. Please forgive me!

Link is so dead, huh? Oh, well. Heroes. And is it just me, or does Link scream _"Maeva!"_ just a little too much? Here's the translation for the monkeys' conversation earlier.

"Ooh ooh, ahh ahh!" _Hey hey, they're here!_

"Ooh ahh ahh?" _Who are they?_

"Ooh ahh ahh ooh ahh!" _The ones who saved us!_

"Ooh." _Oh._

Yep, monkeys have the deepest conversations... Until next time! (:


	5. Complaints

Maeva, a young woman taken in by Zelda, values the princess more than anyone else. When sent to follow Link in hopes of a better future for all those who have fallen into the twilight, she decides SHE will save the princess and Hyrule. It becomes a race against time and a race against Link, but as time passes, will she learn to accept him? Rather, will he learn to accept what she is? Follows LoZ:TP.

AnimeFreak2306: I'm so glad you think so. XD This one is extra dragging, though, because my writer's block is killing me.

So sorry for the late update! You can throw crap at me now. And sorry this is so short. I'll try to make the next one longer!

* * *

Take a deep breath, Maeva. You mustn't kill Link yet.

All right.

Link, that insufferable human who nearly had me fall into a dark abyss, opens the gigantic door in front of us with the big key **I** found earlier. The chains around the entrance fall to the floor and we are allowed passage.

"Maeva, stay near the wall," Link orders me. He actually sounds serious, for once... Not that it matters.

I suddenly realize why Link was so stern with me. Three giant Deku Baba- no, the Twilit Parasite Diababa floats on the water before us (was it truly floating or was its roots planted deep under the water?). What's this? Fear? Now, only a bit of course, because it's disgusting, it's not as if I'm afraid... I would prefer it if we weren't. The boulder behind us rolls itself shut, as if the slam that forced a ringing in my ears was a sign that we could not leave.

"No use leaving now," Midna rises from Link's shadow, confirming my suspicions to my dismay. "That monster has what we need." Ah, so we have no choice, then.

"All right, then," Link turns to me with a small grin on his face. "Shall we?"

I was a bit competitive with _him_, so surely I can be competitive with this human, correct? Yes, yes, of course. I whip my head to my side to face him and reciprocate the look with a snort. "**I** will!"

I approach the Diababa swiftly and throw the Leviathan at its right head. Haha, it goes straight through! I turn around to face Link and grin. "And _that_ is how-"

Why is Link's face surprisingly even more distorted than usual?

"Maeva!"

He grabs a small bombling from beside him (when in the world did they arrive there?), takes the Gale Boomerang from out of his pocket, and throws the Boomerang at me while a bombling is on it. What in the-

I turn my head around and duck, only to be thrown back by the impact of the blast. I push myself up from the ground and spit the soil from my mouth, ignoring the back pain I have gained from being thrown against the wall. I am trying to be _kind_ to that human, I promise! He's just making it so hard for me to do so! "What were you thinking?!"

"That one head tried to attack you when you turned around," Link explains. Hmph! Fine, I will give him the benefit of the doubt... Today.

"Well, you-" Midna's stirking eyes flashed beneath Link. "...are forgiven."

"Thank you," Link replies. Is he mocking me? "Let's finish him off." He suddenly raises his arm and catches the Gale Boomerang in his hand.

"That was disgusting!" a voice from the Boomerang cries. "You've never taken care of a Fairy before, have you? You're horrible at it!"

"No," I answer, flicking my finger at the Boomerang.

"Ow!" it cries. Hmm...

"Link! Maeva!" Ooccoo screams. Oh yes, I sometimes forget her existence. Ooccoo Junior hides under her wing, shaking in fear. Oh, the poor child...

"Ooccoo Junior, what is- ahhhh!" The last head grabs me with its tongue! Disgusting, disgusting, disgusting! This must be the worst circumstance I've been in since my freedom! That human is here, therefore I cannot use-

"Hold on!" Link throws another bombling (on the Gale Boomerang) in my direction. "If anyone cares," the Boomerang begins to shout, "I think this is barbaric!" Odd, she never spoke once after we rescued her from the baboon before.

I struggle and writhe to release myself from the Diababa's tongue. The Gale Boomerang comes closer, until... _woosh_. It cleanly cuts the Diababa off its stem, causing me to-

"Damn!" -causing me to fall. I really do dislike this plummeting-down-uncontrollably bit about fighting.

"We did it!" Link tells me, pulling me up from the water and wiping my face with his hat. The same hat he used to wipe the slime off my forehead before? Ugh! "We've- we've... Maeva, get up. Quickly."

"What?" Clearly, I am soaking wet; I'd much rather- "Why can't we-"

"There's more, it isn't over!" the human drags me up from my sitting position and to where Ooccoo and Ooccoo Junior are standing- by the door. I sigh. Heroics do come with a price: having to put up with a human seemingly more heroic than you are.

."Ooh ooh, ahh!" Ooccoo, Ooccoo Junior, Link, and I look up as we all hear a shrieking sound... A new Diababa... And the "boss" baboon! He stands at the sides of the Diababa, but the monstrous plant doesn't seem to notice him throwing a bombling around in his hands!

"Link-"

"I'm there," Link interrupts Ooccoo, and gracefully jumps to throw the Gale Boomerang at the baboon. Is that... the baboon nodding? Once the Gale Boomerang reaches him, he catches it and places the bombling atop before throwing it at one of the _new_ Diababa's heads.

Speaking of the awful Deku, while the center head used to be as repulsive as the side-heads, this new center head is even more grotesque! Seemingly acid saliva pours from its main orifice, its teeth sharper than Midna's tongue. And that is saying a lot.

The Gale Boomerang returns to Link; he and the baboon repeat the pattern and cause another side-head to explode. I wonder if the Diababa is angered in the least. It doesn't seem to-

_SNAP!_

"Eeep! Maeva!" Ooccoo Junior cries, flying into my arms as Link jumps Ooccoo to safety. I wasn't aware that the beast even had the ability to do that...

"Well, it certainly doesn't like to be alone," I answer my previous question out loud. I just realized- the Leviathan! It's still in the water...

"Ahh! Ooh, ahh!" the baboon flails its arms in the air wildly as if to tell Link to begin the patter once more. Link sets Ooccoo down once the last Diababa head withdraws back to the water and throws the Gale Boomerang at the baboon again; she doesn't complain. The bomb certainly hits the center head, but instead of exploding like the rest of the heads, it merely falls down before us.

"The Leviathan," I whisper. Now is my chance! As Link unsheathes his sword and lunges at the Diababa, I dive into the water to search for the Leviathan. Perhaps the item Midna is seeking is also here, but my weapon is first priority. Ah, there, by the second Diababa's roots!

I rise from the water and prop myself up on the ground only to be attacked by the center head. Oh, it's conscious again. "Maeva!"

"I'm there," I repeat his words, and use the Leviathan to jump and land on the center Diababa head. It shrieks as I hold onto its appallingly slimy eyelid. Its smearing of slime all over me is not in vain, for I manage to raise my weapon and strike its lone eye with the Leviathan's crystal!

"Guwaaaaaaatsssssssahh!"

One more blow! It howls in pain again before it collapses to the ground, allowing me to descend before Link. "There," I lean on the Leviathan. I am quite tired. Human villages... were much more easy to destroy. "It's finished."

Link smiles and parts his soft lips to- rather, he opens his mouth to speak, but Midna interjects with a giggle. "Well done!" she says as she floats towards where the finall Diababa head fell. As its body miraculously disappears, a small, black, glowing piece of armor materializes.

Midna floats closer to it and embraces it; it vanishes, and she turns to us with a smile. "This is what I was looking for. It's a Fused Shadow." A Fused Shadow? "It's what the light spirit was talking about. Do you remember what it said about how you had to match the power of the King of Shadows?" The King of Shadows... He's nothing more than a- "Could it really be so easy?" Midna continues giggling as she speaks. "Is this all there is to it? Hmm... There's a total of three Fused Shadows. I think the other light spirits have the rest! If you want to know exactly what Fused Shadows are... Well, maybe I'll tell you if you find the other two," she taunts. Does she taunt me or the human? Link's face is rather scrunched up. She _is_ good.

"Well, don't give me that look. I guess you'd better do your best to find them, huh?" she giggles again, and Link just looks away. I can understand his annoyance. "Right, right. Let's not waste any more time here when ew could be looking for the other two! I'll get us all out of here. Hold onto those birds!"

Link and I nod. I take Ooccoo Junior and he holds Ooccoo, who snuggles closely to him. Ugh, the thought and the mental image of their interbreeding is destroying me, and I am thankful of the darkness when it envelops their figures as well as ours.

"Where are we?" I ask Link, as Midna has disappeared. Ooccoo is now atop Link's hat, and Ooccoo Junior rests on my shoulder. After Link spoke with Faron, one of the light spirits, once more, we set out in this direction. This direction, which will supposedly lead us to the next light spirit, Eldin.

We currently stand before a vast plain, full of monsters, I am sure of it, but compared to most places I've been to, this area is paradise.

"Hyrule Field," Link answers, looking around as well.

"Ah, Hyrule Field!" Ooccoo jumps up, causing Link to cringe. "This is a bit far from your home, isn't it, Link?"

"Yes," Link whispers. He turns his head back to Faron Woods before looking ahead again. "I guess it is."

"Tell me," Ooccoo says, sitting down on the human's head once more as we walk westward. "What did you do before you became an adventurer?"

"Hmm?" Link looks up as he slashes a bokoblin in our way. I would have done so myself, but it would be a waste of muscle. "Why do you ask?"

Oocoo starts, "Since we're all going to be companions from now on-"

What did she just...?!

"-I thought we should all get to know each other better!"

"Oh," Link nods, bobbing Ooccoo up and down. An amusing sight to say the least. "Well, I was a ranch hand in Ordon Village before all this happened..."

"And were you going to be a ranch hand forever?"

"No," Link laughs. "They actually expected me... to be Mayor." Ha! Him? Mayor of an entire village? A weak-hearted man couldn't possibly lead such a pathetic town. Midna's eyes flash from beneath his almost-invisible shadow, and so I restrain myself from speaking my thoughts.

"That's good, isn't it, Maeva?" Ooccoo Junior asks me. Oh, no.

"W-well," I clear my throat as Ooccoo and Link face me. "I suppose it might be."

"She means it is, dear, it is." Ooccoo tells her daughter before tapping Link's head with her foot to signal the furtherance of their conversation. "So, Link, are there any women back in your village you have your eye on?"

"Uhh..."

"Hahaha! I guess I should rephrase that!" Ooccoo's laugh is almost as distracting as Midna's giggle. "Do you have any girls your age in your village?"

"Well, the Mayor's daughter is my age. Her name's Ilia..." Link's face took on a dark look. "She was taken by the monsters."

"I see," Ooccoo nods sagely before smiling again. Oddity is a complete understatement at the moment. "Well, that's perfect then, isn't it? The future mayor and the previous mayor's daughter, married! Don't you think it's perfect, Maeva? Almost like a fairy tale?"

I give Ooccoo a disgusted look to mirror how I currently feel. "I don't involve myself in human affairs such as _marriage_..." I scoff. "On another note, fairies are whiny, and I couldn't possibly care less about who your beloved Link marries as long as I don't have to attend the ceremony!"

"_Now, now,_" Midna shakes her head, jumping out of Link's shadow. "_Just because yours is a failed one, it doesn't mean you have to take your anger out on the poor boy! And he is older than you, so show a bit of respect._"

"_Please!_" I rolled my eyes. "_I'll show him respect when he proves that he has earned it, an event I highly doubt will happen soon. And I wasn't married!_"

"You were going to be," Midna reverts back to the light world's language and jumps back into Link's shadow.

Link and Ooccoo stare at me for a moment.

"Well, whatever she was saying, she was probably right to have silenced you like that," Ooccoo speaks again. Oh, no. "Link is a very nice boy, and I'm sure he'll marry a very nice girl."

"Believe whatever you wish to believe," I wave my hand at the two offhandedly, walking ahead of them; although I do not know the way to this Eldin province, I can sense the twilight. "Just make it so I don't have to listen to your prattle any longer."

"Quite the haughty one, isn't she?"

"I can still hear you."

"And so could I!" Link's pocket starts moving around. "I heard you talking behind my back! And another thing: no one's cleaned me! I've given you my power and this is what you have to show for it?"

Didn't I tell you fairies were terribly disagreeable?

"Who is that?" Ooccoo bends down from Link's head.

"The Fairy of Winds," I reply. "She is in the Boomerang... Clean her up, Link, or she won't stop babbling."

"Haughty is right!" the Fairy shrieked, giving Link a harder time cleaning her. I do admire that bit about her, although I can't say I admit to being haughty.

"If anyone cares about my opinion, which I'm sure you _all_ do," Midna giggles, appears from Link's shadow once more, and floats before us with her hands behind her head. "I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship!"

-----

"Here we are," says Midna as we stand before the Eldin Province. She had transported us from where we were earlier after she, Ooccoo, and the Fairy complained about the heat numerous times. The last two are currently inside Link's pocket, Ooccoo Junior included. They will turn into spirits the moment we entire the Twilight realm, and since they somehow fit in Link's pocket, they will stay there for the duration of the stay in the Twilight. "It was harder to do in the light, but I'd rather have a hard time transporting all of us than walk towards this area for an entire day!"

"Let's step in, then," I nod, placing my hand on the Twilight's entrance. I turn to Link. "Unless you are too scared to enter the Twilight once more."

"I'm not." replies Link. What- what is he doing?! I quickly look away. "Please hold this for me while I'm in that form," he tells me, giving me his apparel, his shield, and his sword. Is he... fully disrobed now? "All right, I'm ready."

"Good!" Midna leaps out of Link's shadow and laughs at my (probably) distorted face; she just as well looks away from the human. "And don't you worry. When you turn into a beast again, Maeva will take good care of you... Won't you now, Maeva?"

I look to Link for a fraction of a second- his cerulean eyes capture mine, but I turn away before... before he can keep me.

"I trust you, Maeva, although I know you don't trust me," says Link, placing his hand on my bare shoulder. "I hope you know that."

"It isn't wise," I choke out, removing his hand from my person. No human aside from Zelda has ever... "It isn't wise to bestow such a binding thing to a complete stranger."

"Well, I've never been wise, and I don't really care enough to start now." Midna looks in his direction as he adds, "I'm ready."

"All right!" Midna grins. She begins to glow, and- I turn around. "Link, just a mome-"

They're... gone. I suppose I should go in, too. I bite my lip uncomfortably. Is it wrong to think that...

That Link had quite a nice posterior?

Of course, I am not, in any way, saying that I am interested in the rest of him. O-or even that part of him, for that matter!

Ugh... That human...


	6. Actor

Maeva, a young woman taken in by Zelda, values the princess more than anyone else. When sent to follow Link in hopes of a better future for all those who have fallen into the twilight, she decides SHE will save the princess and Hyrule. It becomes a race against time and a race against Link, but as days pass, will she learn to accept him? Rather, will he learn to accept what she is? Follows LoZ:TP.

**AnimeFreak2306**: Haha, well, you can punch me when you're energized enough, then. XP Sorry again! And now it's my turn to doze off...

Hellooooo! I tried to make it long but I just _had_ to go to sleep... XD Hope you like it at least a bit!

* * *

"Ahh," Midna smiles, looking up at the sky- if one can still call it that. Again, the twilight covers all. At the moment, we are following a scent Link found from a backpack, supposedly owned by his fellow Ordonians. "The black clouds of twilight are so fetching today... I feel so much more at ease here! And you look so much better like this than in those dusty old clothes, anyway, Link. Don't you agree, Maeva?"

"Is it safe to say that I really don't care at the moment?" I don't even look at her as we walk forward. I just want to leave this place. I run forward, leaving them behind, but before I can get too far, a bridge- rather, the lack of it- stops me. I think I saw the missing-

"Maeva, where have you gone now?"

I quickly run back to where Midna and Link are walking and block their way. "Wait, it is... dangerous."

"Since when has _that_ mattered?" Midna raises an eye ridge at me. "Don't you want to help your princess?"

"Of course I do!" I hiss. "_That bridge- the one standing in Faron woods, if you can remember- is the missing piece of a path here needed to reach that Eldin province. Can you stall him?_"

"I don't remember..." Midna seems more comfortable speaking the light world's language these days; not that I object to it. I only speak in our native tongue to confuse the already-puzzled human (or wolf?) before me. "But the latter will be a piece of cake!" she pulls Link by the ears: the wolf almost yelps. "That way, Link!" Link yelps again before running off in another direction.

Finally. I pound the Leviathan's crystal against the ground thrice, and with each strike, the darkness spreads beneath me. I take a deep breath:

"North Faron woods!"

-and as a flurry of heat and cold surround me, I am hauled back to Faron woods.

"Hey, hey, hey! It's Maeva!"

Damn.

"Trill," I wave at the shrieking bird. I would like to stuff his beak into a dark and gloomy aviary so as to lower his spirits a bit. "How... goes your... business?"

"Hahh," Trill sighs, landing on my shoulder. I hate it when he does that. "It's rough, having to watch a shop in this unpopular part of town," he muses. "Even though I watch after this shop every day, he never shows any appreciation!"

"Who never shows any appreciation?"

"My master, Coro! I think he probably didn't get much praise growing up..." Coro? He wasn't given much to think about, either. The man probably doesn't even know this bird's name!

"The poor man," I shake my head. "Well, Trill, I have a job to do, so I must go..."

"Don't we all?" Trill bursts into laughter. I just might go deaf after this conversation. "Eh, okay. Tell Link I said hi! Wherever he is!"

"I will," I wave goodbye as he flies back to his shop... I will not tell Link as long as he continues to deafen me with his tone! Anyway, I run towards the bridge's missing piece, and once I have enough awareness of the large object, I strike the Leviathan against the ground thrice again. Just a moment- where were we earlier? Ah!

"The Eldin Province!"

Ouch... My head aches. It seems I wasn't specific enough. Where am I? The bridge is gone, and...

Sobbing.

I look behind me, to my right, and see six humans- in spirit form, of course. One man and five children, two girls and three boys... Wait! Could these be the Ordonians Link spoke of? Not one of them looks like this _Ilia_, who is supposedly as old as Link, but...

Oh, yes. The sobbing. One of the girls, the one with a lighter hair color (they both have short hair), sobs in the adult's arms as the rest of the children crowd around her. "I just want to go home," she cries, her eyes rather puffy with tears.

"Do not worry, child... you are safe here," the adult coos the girl, patting her back softly. "No matter where it is, the darkness always has to give way to light."

"D-do you really think so, Mister Renado?" the child asks, looking up to him. He smiles kindly at her. So his name is Renado?

"I know it." Renado smiles still. Even as a spirit, he remains brave and kind, unafraid... Finally, a human besides Zelda who is not in any way _annoying_! And he is rather... elegant. Although, as opposed to Link, he is dark-skinned and his lips are comparatively thick, he is still admirable. Why am I even comparing the two? Link is my age whereas Renado is grown, of age, and-

"_Where_ have you been? We're on a tight schedule here, in case you've failed to notice!" Midna yells in my ear as my surroundings are suddenly of an open field. There is a waterfall in front of us, and a village behind. She summoned me? That takes a lot of power, is she all right?

"I apologize, I apologize!" I cover my ears as she continues to scream. Link is here, so... "I, erm, went ahead of you, but I just couldn't find the light spirit..."

Midna frowns at me. "It's fine, we already found him. Here-" she tosses me another Vessel, much like the one from the previous light spirit. "-we have to collect those bugs again."

"That's fine with me. Where are the insects?"

"We start... there!" Midna points towards a large hut before turning to me. "You weren't with us when we spoke with that Eldin spirit, so he didn't get to embed the locations of the shadow insects in your mind... I guess you'll just have to think hard!"

What am I supposed to say to that? I merely groan and run to follow the two as they jump inside the large hut through the roof- Renado and the children! So this is where she summoned me from... I guess we weren't that far apart. Still, I do hope Midna's all right.

"We are safe as long as we remain in here, child. Be at ease." Renado whispers, his worried look changing into a reassuring one so as to comfort the children. Judging by Link's surprised look, these children really are the Ordonians.

"Oh yeah?" Hmm? A man directly across Renado and the children is crouched by the window. I did not notice him before... He raises an eyebrow at Renado with much skepticism. "I wonder if the monsters out there agree with you. They sure didn't seem impressed by my bombs! How long do you think we can hold this sanctuary against beasts that strong, huh?!" Bombs? Ha! If the monsters they speak of are the shadow beasts, then those bombs really were used in vain. "Once they attack," the man continues, "It's **over**! Remember that lady from the general store? Just one of those things attacked her, and a whole gang from town went to save her! And what happened? She was already gone, and there were **two** monsters waitin'!"

This man talks too much. Renado's level-headedness, on another note, truly amazes me!

"You connectin' the dots? That means that if we get attacked by them, then we'll be..."

"Barnes!" Renado scolds. Oh, did he sense the children's growing fear as well? Kind is an understatement for this man.

"Look, Renado..." This _Barnes_ sighs. "All I mean to say is that it's risky here, too! Ain't you got some place we can hide?"

Renado looks to the center of the room. Midna yawns while Link watches the children intently. "There is... a cellar."

"What?!" Barnes jumps up and looks around. "You got a cellar? Where's the entrance, man?"

"The entrance to the cellar is designed to open when all of the candles have been lit," Renado answers. Barnes begins to walk towards the candles, but the other child, who shares her beauty with Renado, shakes her head. "I... would not do that. When Father instructed me to secure the cellar, I saw insects like the beasts outside." Father? Renado...?

The first girl begins to cry again. My, my. She needs to calm down. This is quite a waste of time, and I do not see any insects...

"Don't cry, Beth!" A blond little boy rubs her back. "It'll be okay! Link is coming to save us all... I can feel it!" Hmm? _Link_ will save them? This is interesting... Perhaps there is a reason Link is expected to be Mayor when he comes of age.

"These kids knew you'd come to save them! What a hero!" Midna giggles uncontrollably, patting Link and ruffling his fur. "How sad, to be right in front of someone and not be noticed at all..." she looks to me for a moment before hiding behind another laugh. "Eee hee hee! You are chosen by the gods, and only that keeps you from turning into a spirit, or worse, into a dark monster, when you enter the twilight. And no one knows what you have done- you may be doomed to toil in obscurity forever... You're the type to worry about everything, I can tell! But don't you fret for these children, they can still be saved... Anyway, what's with having to light candles to get to the basement? Not very subtle, is it?" Midna rolls her visible eye. "So, what are you going to do now? Our lonely little hero... Ah, well, at least Maeva's here to keep you company!"

"Me?" I point to myself, raising an eyebrow at the two. "What gives you the idea that I will agree to babysit a little pup?"

"Actually, _I'm_ giving you the idea." Midna corrects me. I shake my head.

"No, perhaps we should split up so as to find the insects faster. Don't you think so?" I say to Link, who looks away and even seems to shrug. I look to Midna. "I will take that as a yes."

"Hmph!" Midna crosses her small arms and pats Link. "Fine! You look for those insects outside. There are four in this area, anyway... We'll just catch up. Go! Go." Midna waves a hand at me dismissively, and once she and Link turn away, I jump out of the roof with the Leviathan. Be safe, Renado.

I land outside the hut and walk forward. This place is so desolate, it reminds me of home. Is it odd that I feel no such nostalgia creeping upon me? The building to my right... A store? I don't bother to knock. The door has decayed to the point that a single rap causes it to collapse.

I step into the store. There are many items, but it all seems abandoned now... Is there an insect here? I can't see anything. Am I really this helpless without the guidance of the Light Spirit?

_"I guess you'll just have to think hard!"_

Think hard...?

Of course! If the insect is a manifestation of the darkness that has temporarily consumed the light (the Tear), and darkness gives way to light, no matter where it is... I strike the ground with the Leviathan thrice.

"_Oh, Tear! The twilight calls. Where you rise, the darkness falls._"

**There** you are.

A familiar insect crawls into the room from a hole in the wall. It squeaks... and promptly loses its life. A tear enters the vessel and so does another; so they've found one as well. I step out of the store and sprint up a hill as I tap the Leviathan on the ground. I catapult myself on top of the roof of the house across the small hill.

Tap, tap, tap.

"_Oh, Tear! The twilight calls. Where you rise, the darkness falls._"

Two insects rise from the house, flying together and humming a pleasant vibration as they float towards me. Pleasant? That's odd. I eliminate them anyway, for they are of the shadows. But so am...

I must press on. Six tears. They must have found two more.

I jump down from the roof and run to the edge of the village houses. I really can't sense the insects, and I grow tired of using the shadows. He always did the work himself, and never made it necessary for _me_ to summon my energy...

_"Are you sure this is needed?" I hold onto his arm as he summons the shadows to flood the village before us. His soldiers do the rest of the work. "All these creatures..." _

"They're called humans, Maeva." he says to me, taking a seat on the caravan and offering me one as well. "And it is essential to your happiness; with them around, you can't possibly live in this world peacefully."

"All right... If they're called humans, I- I never got the chance to ask..." I trail off. "What are we called?"

He smiles at me and cups my cheek endearingly. "Superior." 

I climb another hill and approach a house with a picture of a bomb above its door. A bomb shop? I doubt there are any insects here... Correct? I don't kn- what is that? I run further up the hill and arrive at a shack. "Wow," I mutter under my breath as I enter. There are so many explosives... I bend down to take a familiar-looking one.

_"Use this," he orders a bulblin soldier as he hands the latter a tiny explosive. The bulblin salutes him and tosses the small bomb into the window of a human house. _

"Mommy!" a child screams, the right portion of the house catching fire as the bomb explodes.

"Nala, stay close!" a woman, supposedly the mother, tries to shout over the flames.

"Those humans-" I gasp in horror. "They will...!" His grip around my waist tightens.

"It's necessary, my love." 

This bomb was the same device he gave that bulblin... I stand up, only to stumble and fall on my elbows. The explosive flies out of my hands and falls into the lit fireplace.

_"No, no!" I push him away and run towards the burning house. I force the door open. "Humans!" I call out desperately. "N-nala!" I push further into the flames. I ignore them as they lick my skin venomously. "Can you hear me?" _

They don't respond, but I hear their cries, dying out by the second...

Under the debris! I summon the shadows to lift the fallen rubble and find... Oh... Oh. I cover my eyes as my tears begin to clam up. They've died!

"Maeva!" I hear his voice. Did he come in, looking for me? I caused this... "Maeva, you mustn't breathe in the flames! Maeva!" 

I can still feel the fire eating its way through my skin, and him dragging me out of the house in a coughing fit...

"Maeva!" I feel something wet on my face and am suddenly forced to sit up as I continue coughing and wheezing. I blink. Link?! I push the wolf's face away and wipe my own.

"You idiot!" Midna's voice wakes me from my trance again. "Do you have some kind of death wish?! If Link didn't sense you getting yourself burned to death and dragged you out of the house, you would have died!"

"I'm sorry," I hold my head and look up to Midna shamefully. Three Tears enter the vessel. "Well... The good news is, we have nine Tears."

"Thirteen, actually. We took care of the ones you overlooked." Midna is not happy with me. I glare at Link. Wolf saliva is so... glutinous. "The rest are up there, on that mountain. And don't you take this out on Link, Maeva! He was only trying to wake you!"

"All right," I roll my eyes... in my mind. I stand up, cringing at the sears the flames caused. "Fine. Let's go."

"Who says you're coming?"

I scoff at her. "I'm the one holding the vessel and so I should come!"

"The tears will find the vessel anyway! You stay here, you're still weak from the explosion."

"I'm not weak!"

"No," Midna flares. "You're stubborn! Ugh! Arguing with you isn't going to help now anyway, so just hurry and get up if you want to come!"

"I will!"

And I do. Hmph... What is bothering her? Link's only had to save me this once!

Ah, well... Nothing interesting happened on the way to get the last three insects, if you were curious. But I did see some interesting sights. Link stopped by an unusual-looking stone and began howling. Midna curtly ordered me not to bother him, and we pressed on. I also saw this new people called Gorons. They seemed more restless than hostile. Ah, well, they could not see us, anyway.

The Gorons have this wonderful hot spring where the last insect supposedly is. Even under the twilight, the water is relaxing...

"Insect!" I shriek just before we can relax (although half my body is completely drenched again). Link swiftly attacks it before I can and the last Tear returns to the vessel.

"Aw, I was just starting to have fun!" whines Midna to Link. She still ignores me. "Don't forget that Fused Shadow, see you later!" She disappears into Link's shadow.

The Vessel releases itself from my hold and rises, light breaking through the tears- Renado was right. The darkness has given way to the light in this place. In another blink, The wolf and I are before the waterfall from earlier. The twilight has been unveiled here! That means Renado... and the rest of the children are safe.

An owl-like light spirit appears before us with a smile. He has his own tune, similar yet different to Faron's. The sight is just as captivating as Faron. "My name is Eldin," he says."I am one of the light spirits of Hyrule. I am the spirit that guards these lands. Thank you for restoring my light... O great hero chosen by the gods..." Oh, yes. Link. I set his belongings down before him. "The dark power you seek lies in the sacred grounds of the proud mountain dwellers. But already those grounds have been defiled, draped in shadow and seeded with evil. You must go to those sacred grounds and cleanse them."

With that, he disappears. Well, I never! He didn't even give us a chance to speak! I sigh. At least he thanked... Link. He is human now. Still, am I invisible to those light spirits? Or do they know what I am and choose to ignore me?

Link, now fully clothed and in his human form, approaches me. Does he expect a thanks? The light spirit already did that for me. He takes me by the arms. "Link, what do you think you're... doing..." I refrain from complaining as he rubs the red potion over my burns. I look away. "Are you done?"

Link sets my arms down and once I turn back to look at him, he has pocketed the potion back. "You're very welcome," he smiles. "Thank you for taking care of me."

I shake my head at Link. "I did not-"

"Link?!"

Both of us turn around in surprise. It is the blond little boy who was with Renado earlier. I hear many more 'Link?!'s from inside the hut, and all the humans file out, including Renado and Barnes.

The seemingly eldest boy grins and turns to the sobbing girl (who is now smiling happily). "Ha ha ha! See, Beth?! I _told_ you Link would save us!" No, the other boy did...

"You are the one from Ordon whom these children spoke of?" Renado steps forward with a smile. "We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this town. And this..." he points to the more collected girl from earlier. "This is my daughter, Luda." Ah, so she is his daughter...

Link returns Renado's smile. "It's a great pleasure to meet you... Thank you for taking care of them." he turns to me. "This is-"

"The beasts took us and left us to die!" the blond child interrupts Link. "But Mr. Renado found us." I would be greatly annoyed with the boy if he had not proven Renado's benevolence even more...

Renado's eyebrows crease in affirmation. "At first, I couldn't believe they had come from so distant a place as the Ordona Province..." It isn't actually that far...

"Yeah, I..." the boy motions to the rest of the children. "We don't remember much. All of a sudden everyone was captured, and then... until now... it's been like..."

"A nightmare." My eyes widen. The youngest boy can talk? It seems I've underestimated humans.

"Mmm..." Renado heaves a heavy sigh. "Nightmares are everywhere these days, it seems. Kakariko village has certainly seen its share of recent hardships. The dark beasts attacked, but even worse was the sudden and inexplicable change in the mountain-dwelling Goron tribe."

"What's wrong with the Gorons?" I ask. Renado, Barnes, and the children finally notice me. The shaman smiles at me in acknowledgement.

"They had long been our friends," he explains. "But suddenly treated us as foes. Even now they refuse to permit us entry into their mines. It strains the limits of belief, to think that such a gentle and proud tribe could change so suddenly... It makes me wonder if something in those mines is the cause of this change. In any case, you must take these children and flee this village before more nightmares descend. I, of course, cannot leave my village in such a time. There is no telling what may happen to us here. But it is my job to try to coax the Gorons back from their recent change of heart."

"If you cannot leave, neither can we!" I suddenly spout. Link gapes at me in surprise, but I ignore him. "We cannot leave you to your fate..."

"Thank you," Renado smiles gratefully. "My lady, you are...?"

"Oh! This is Maeva," Link introduces me to everyone. "Actually, I... couldn't have saved the town without her help." I stare at link in bewilderment. Why is he giving me the glory? Why is he being so-

"Ah! Well then, it is an honor to be your acquaintance," Renado bows to me. Barnes and the children stare at me oddly.

"_You_ helped with saving the town?" The sobbing girl (what? I do not know her name!) steps towards me and grabs my arm. She inspects the symbols imprinted on my skin and condescendingly frowns at me. "What's with these ugly markings?"

_Ugly?_

"Yeah!" the youngest boy runs over to me, too. "This is so weird... It looks like the symbols those shadows accompanied by the pig things had!"

_Those shadows..._

"Are you sure you're not evil?" the sobbing girl narrows her eyes at me. I refrain from slapping the snobbish look off her face. "You better not be trying to steal Link away!"

I take a deep breath so as not to lose control. Me? Steal Link away?! Highly unlikely for me to bother with such an immature young man! "I assure you-"

"Beth! Malo!" Link scolds the two while he pulls me to stand behind him. "Don't be disrespectful. Maeva is my friend, and she isn't in any way evil. I promise." He's... defending me?

"How _did_ you get those symbols, though? That kid was right, they look familiar," Barnes finally speaks.

"I..." I am about to look to Link's shadow for help when I remember her anger. "I... As a child, I was taken by the shadows. They engraved these markings on my skin to brand me as their own, but I escaped."

"You poor thing!" Barnes cries out all of a sudden. Link gives me a pitiful look. If only he knew _what_ he was truly looking at. "You really should go home to them Ordonians, where you'll definitely be safe!"

"I can't," I shake my head. I don't wish to leave Renado here, helpless before all the dangers of the world...

"I agree!" the boy who said he trusted Link exclaims. "I don't wanna leave all these people just to save ourselves!"

"Come on, Link!" says Beth. Do they really depend on Link for everything? Even the adults in their village can't seem to do a thing on their own without Link! "Can't you do something?"

"Isn't there some way to make up with the Gorons?" the blond boy asks.

"Colin's right. You'd think someone could go to the mines and do something..." Malo says. All right, the blond is Colin, and maybe I could...

Luda takes me by the arm. "Miss Maeva," she shakes her head, as if telling me not to do what I'm planning. "Trying to go near the mines is very dangerous. I will be very sad to be separated from Colin and the others, but I know they must go. Please return them safely to their parents."

"But..." I look to the shaman before me. "Renado... And..."

"I do not know what is in the Goron mines, but surely they will soon come to understand it, and right what is wrong. Do not concern yourself with me. You must flee this place as quickly as you can." Renado tells me.

"Actually, Maeva's right," Link replies to Renado for me. "As much as I want to bring the four back to Ordon as soon as possible, we can't just leave the three of you here. Maeva, let's go... to the Goron Mines!"

Hmph! Saying it as if it were his idea!

I follow him anyway. The villagers try to chase us, but Link is surprisingly quick on his feet, even as a human. We arrive at the cliff where the first Goron is. "We'll have to climb this... It was much easier as a wolf." Link says to himself. I shrug and watch Link climb up first.

"Well?" I call to him. "Is the Goron-"

"Ahh!" I hear the Goron... scream? "No humans allowed! These lands ahead belong to the Goron tribe! The elder said no humans may pass!"

_Oof!_ I am pushed to the ground as Link lands on me. "The Gorons aren't very friendly," Link mutters. "Sorry about that."

"Ugh, _please_ get off me, Link." I push him off forcibly and climb the cliff myself. A Goron I saw earlier stands guard. I would congratulate him for throwing Link off the cliff...

"A weak spirit is no match for the might of the Gorons! Do you understand me, human? Then away with you!"

...if he wasn't about to do the same to me! With one push, I fall off the cliff as well.

_Oof!_ Again, except Link actually manages to catch me. He was only able to do so because he knew I would fall! Oh, my back...

"I told you," Link sighs as he sets me down. "There's got to be another way..."

"Maybe, but we're not using it now! Maeva's tired. Bring her back to the village." Midna instructs Link, resurfacing from his shadow.

"I don't need help," I mutter, walking towards the cliff again.

"Yes, you do!" Midna says, and summons a shadow to grab me. "Link, carry her back to the village. **Now**."

"Yes, ma'am," Link chortles and picks me up from the ground.

"Link, put me down!"

"Sorry, Maeva," Link sighs. "Midna's orders." I groan.

"Ugh... I am aware."

-----

"Ah, how fortunate you are in one piece!" Renado says as we return to Kakariko village. "Are you trying to reach the Gorons of Death Mountain? It is far too dangerous for the two of you! They recognize only strength. A normal person could never persuade them... But I do know one person who was able to best them and earn their trust."

"What's his name?" Link horns in. He sets me down on the ground and lets go of me once I can stand properly. My back...

"You may know him as the mayor of your hometown, Ordon... He is Bo. Please, go to him. And while you are there, please let him know that the children are safe. Of course, getting them back would be best, but we cannot possibly keep them safe from the monsters on the road without a horse and cart..." Oh, he thinks of everything, doesn't he? "Please, return to Ordon and inform the parents that their children are free from harm. Give them my word."

"We will!" I exclaim. Bo... He is the man who caught my bracelet. "It's best we leave now, so that-"

"Graahhhhh!" All of us turn to the entrance of Kakariko Village. A horse? Surrounded by shrieking bulblins! I take out my-

Link slays the bulblins and grabs the horse. It struggles for a few minutes before allowing Link to corral her. It is a her, isn't it? "There, there, girl," he pats her, takes his glove off, and brushes his hand against her hair. "It's me, Epona. It's Link."

Epona?

The horse looks at Link and neighs before nuzzling his face. So the horse is his? Link laughs. "I knew you'd recognize me."

"You have a good friend there," Renado pats me on the shoulder. "I know you will have a safe trip back to Ordon. And as for the Gorons... I am sure Bo will be able to tell you how best to win their trust."

"I will remember to ask him." At this, Renado embraces me. That's odd... I don't feel anything... except maybe warmth. "If I ever had a father, Renado," I blurt out, "I'd want him to be you."

"And you would certainly make a good sister for Luda," Renado chuckles, squeezing my shoulder. "Good luck to you and Link."

"Ready to go, Maeva?" Link slowly walks up to us. "Or... am I interrupting something?"

"No," Renado laughs. "Not at all."

I nod and walk towards the horse with Link. "Shall we meet in Ordon, then?"

"What are you talking about?" Link pats Epona's back. "Epona can carry us both, can't you, girl?" She neighs- what does _that_ mean?

"Are you sure? Your horse must not be used to carrying two beings at the same-"

"You've never ridden a horse before, have you?"

-----

"Wooooohoo!" Ooccoo shrieks at the top of her lungs as she digs her claws into Link's shoulder. "This is wonderful!" Yes, they're back outside. I tried to persuade them to stay in the human's pocket, but Ooccoo Junior asked if she could stay outside, and I couldn't say no... "Maeva, you're losing your grip!" Ooccoo Junior shouts from in front of Link. Ugh! I wrap my arms tighter around the human. "That's better," she says.

"I wish I could say the same!" the Fairy of Winds yells from my pouch. "At least you can see something!" I slap my pouch softly.

"Quiet!"

This is all because of Link. I told him that of course I had ridden a horse before! What did he think I was? Inexperienced? And then he told me to get onto Epona, a feat which I failed at... But only because I was still a bit tired from the Goron encounter! And so the human told me he wouldn't laugh at the fact that I had never ridden a horse before and helped me up on Epona, and we left Kakariko Village in a hurry, and now... Now I feel rather sick.

"Are you dizzy, Maeva?" Link asks me, placing his hand on my own and turning his head to face me. "You don't look so good..."

"I'm perfectly fine!" I answer, turning away and widening the gap between us. "Now, are we there yet or is your horse always this slow?" Epona neighs angrily and starts going faster. Oh, did that strike a nerve? Can she even understand what I'm saying?

"We're here already, we're just- hey, Coro!"

"Hey, guy!" Coro waves from his seat. He screams like a- "Girl! ...Chicken?" -as Epona nearly jumps over him. "All right, just tell me later!"

Link laughs and Epona gallops straight into Ordon, not stopping until she almost steps on a human. Oh! It is the plump shopkeeper! Link jumps off his horse and helps me down, as well. Not that I couldn't do it on my own...

"Link?!" the woman gasps. "And... and the traveller?'

"Sera," Link gives her a kind smile. "The children are in Kakariko Village. They're safe."

"What's that?" Sera gasps, tears brimming in her eyes. "Oh, thank goodness they're all still alive!" she begins to cry. "I have to tell everyone!" she runs off and knocks on all her fellow villagers' doors, telling them about the news we bear... But Ilia, Link's friend, is still missing...

All the villagers gather round us, excluding one of the men that tried to attack me last night: Rusl. Hanch, Bo, the shopkeeper is here, of course, and the wife of Rusl, Uli, too. Another couple is here, but I do not know their identities. In any case, they all cheer at the news of their children's safety as expected of them.

"L-Link," the foolish man on the hill stutters, his completely tousled hair (at least, what was left of it) an evidence of worry for his children. "What are you doing with that girl? Don't you know she's working with the kidnappers?!"

"She isn't," Link shakes his head, raising his arm in my defense. Why...? "She tried to help you last night, but you drove her away."

"I-is that so?" the Mayor, Bo, asks. Ugh.

"Yes, it _is_ so," I hiss, pushing Link's arm aside. "Now, if you would kindly return my bracelet-"

"We said we'd give it back when the children were back here!" Hanch suddenly yells. I don't like that man.

"Actually," Uli steps forward. "I heard you, and you said you'd give it back to her once the children were safe. And since they _are_ safe..."

"Ilia! What of Ilia?" Bo runs to me and shakes my arms violently. The rest of the villagers begin talking amongst themselves about their children. "Just tell me Ilia is safe..."

"Unfortunately..." I turn to Link for help. He nods, pulls Mayor Bo away from me, and says, "Ilia wasn't in Kakariko village. But we will find her, Bo. I promise." It's no wonder they expect him to be Mayor of Ordon one day- he is only difficult when he's with **me**!

"Renado... He sends his regards." I mutter. "And I suppose... I suppose you can keep the bracelet until Ilia is safe. She was part of the bargain, after all."

"Renado?" Bo's eyes light up. "He's an old friend of mine, and you're right. I guess I need to think of all five of those poor kids, not just my own... They're all in danger, after all. What I should be askin' is how I can help out."

"The children are in Kakariko Village, and as long as Kakariko is in trouble, so are they. The Gorons near Kakariko have turned their backs on the villagers. We need to gain their trust again," Link explains. Why can't he act this way around me? Although I must say, he is a good actor...

"What's that, now? The Gorons of Death Mountain? I see. Renado told you that, did he? Well, it's true. I did defeat the Gorons in a contest of strength and earned their trust..." the Mayor motions for us to lean closer, and so we do. "With the help of a little- ah! What's this?"

"Ooccoo and Ooccoo Junior, at your service!" Ooccoo says, walking into our conversation. I sigh.

"Ah," Mayor Bo blinks. "Pleasure to meet you?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well!" Ooccoo smiles, and Ooccoo Junior says the same. "Now, what were we talking about?"

Mayor Bo clears his throat. "Ah, yes. I gained their trust with the help of a little secret. I can teach you the secret... but can you promise that you absolutely, positively will _not_ disclose it to anyone?"

Link, Ooccoo, Ooccoo Junior and I look to each other. "Don't forget about me!" Ugh. I take the Gale Boomerang out of my pouch.

"Well?" Link asks us, the two of us crouching down to Ooccoo's level. "What do you guys think? Can we keep the secret?"

"Of course!" Ooccoo and I huff. "Yep!" the Fairy of Winds and Ooccoo Junior agree. Link grins, and we both stand. There he is, reverting back to his 'mature' act.

"Your secret is safe with the five of us, Mayor."

"Good. All righty, then. Absolutely no one! Come this way, um... all five of you? Five?"

"Yes, yes, I'm counted, too!" the Gale Boomerang shakes and hurls itself upward before it falls back into my pouch.

"A-ah. I see..." Mayor Bo tugs at his collar before beckoning to us. As the villagers return to their houses in their own chatter, we follow the Mayor into his own. "You've heard of sumo wrestlin', right?" he asks us, leading us into a 'secret' room behind his seemingly usual one. "Gorons like to match strength in sumo contests. Luckily for you, the basics of sumo are the same as stoppin' chargin' goats... Which one o' you is gonna take on the Gorons, anyway?"

"I will," Link and I raise our hands in unison.

He and I turn to each other. He stares at me. I stare him down. He gives me another one of his smiles. "I shall-"

"I'll do it."

"Urgh!" I slam my fist against the ground as I take a seat. "You've won this time, chosen hero..."

Link winks at me in amusement before turning to Mayor Bo. How dare he mock me! "Haha, all righty then, Link, I'll teach you the basics of the ways of sumo. If you're gettin' in a sumo match, chances are you're in an arena like this." He leads Link to a circular platform in the middle of the room. Both humans step onto the _arena_ once they strip down into their... undergarments. So that is how he looks like in only his undergarments. He isn't any less... hands- "The first fella to push his foe outside the arena wins. Step forward and grab your foe like this-" Without warning, he assumes position and grabs Link, who is pushed off the arena in a flash.

He blinks from his position on the ground and sits up. I smirk at him as we make eye contact. "Good luck."

"Thanks," he returns my smirk with a laugh. "I'm definitely going to need it."

"Hmph!" I turn my back to the humans. He always seems to miss my sarcasm. Ooccoo Junior flies onto my shoulder. She must be the only sane one in this room next to me!

"Maeva?"

"Yes, Ooccoo Junior?"

"Why are you facing the wall?"

I sigh, trying to ignore Link's and Mayor Bo's voices. "Don't tell anyone this, Ooccoo Junior, but... I'm tired. Honestly, I've never been forced to stay awake from a whole afternoon until the next! The latest I've ever slept is before midnight..."

"Oh, so you lack sleep, Maeva?"

"I suppose you could say that."

"Fight me as if you were fightin' one of the Gorons!" Mayor Bo exclaims. I turn my head to face him and glare at him. He promptly silences himself before Link laughs me off. My dislike for him grows!

"So you're sleepy..." Ooccoo Junior repeats. "Is that why you've been so mean to Link?"

...Truthfully, I am shocked by this question. I can't possibly tell her that Link is an insufferable twenty year-old brat; it would ruin her childhood! "I..."

"All right!" Ooccoo Junior smiles at me, "I'll find a way so you can get your sleep and be friends with Link!" She then flies to her mother who is at the end of the room.

"Nice going," the Fairy of Winds snorts. I slam my fist against my pouch. "Ow!" She certainly did not have this juvenile attitude when we first met. I tell her this out loud. "I wasn't like this before because I didn't know you two were such horrible owners!" she retorts. "I guess I just take after the one I'm around the most, don't I?"

I laugh. "Ooccoo?"

"No! You insufferable... Ugh! I'm even starting to talk like you!"

"Whoa ho! Not too shabby, lad!" Mayor Bo cheers. Link bested him, did he?

"All right, it's time to be quiet, little girl," I slam my fist against my pouch again. "The adults need to talk now." I stand from my seat and face the humans again. Mayor Bo warily watches me move towards them before he chuckles, patting Link on the back.

"With this boy's natural talent, I'm sure you can take on the Gorons! He's got a sight stronger in the short time he's been gone, Link... Are you doing something to him?" he asks me jovially before turning to the golden-haired human. The only thing I want to do to him is- "Careful now, Link, and stop to remember my daughter... Moving on! Strong as you are, though, you can't hope to beat the Gorons wrestlin' with power alone. Those Gorons are made of rock!"

"Well, thank you for that important piece of information, we're very grateful for your teachings," I say to the Mayor, squeezing Link's shoulder tight. "But we must take our leave now." I cannot help but feel that we are wasting time here in Ordon when something important is happening in Kakariko.

"Hey, hang on! Wait!" Mayor Bo grabs Link by the other arm. "You've gotta defeat the Gorons, right? Well, you're not going to do it without this little secret of mine!" Ah, yes, the secret. "The secret to beatin' the Gorons... is locked away in that chest. Take it with you, lad."

Link smiles at him and crouches down in front of the chest the Mayor was pointing at. He slowly opens it... a pair of boots? Link raises an eyebrow at me and I unintentionally do the same before he turns to Mayor Bo with a calm look on his face. A great actor, indeed...

"You can probably tell, those boots are made of iron, lad. Whoever wears 'em won't easily be pushed around, even by a Goron. If you're fixin' to fight a Goron, be sure to wear those boots. Let's be square, though, lad: You can't ever tell _anyone_ about those boots!" he tells us, making outrageous gestures as he does so. "'Specially Renado!"

"And why not?" I ask. "I will keep your secret... I just wish to know why I must."

"It's a man's secret, lass," Mayor Bo tries to shakes me off his trail. I raise an eyebrow at him questioningly. It appears only Link can stand his ground against me, as proven by the Mayor's shoulders' dejected slump. "For reasons of pride..." he admits.

"Ah. So you gained the Gorons' trust using the Iron Boots and told Renado, who especially admired your courage, that it was your own strength. Nobody except us knows about the boots, correct?"

"Wh-wha- how did you- I didn't say anything, hey!"

Link just chuckles, putting his outer apparel back on. "Thank you for your help, Mayor. We'll bring everyone back safely, I promise." he motions for me to follow him as he leaves the secret room and the Mayor's house, dragging the boots behind him. Ooccoo and Ooccoo Junior follow him. Does he think I am some kind of dog? He must learn not to compare **me** with **him**!

"Wait, lass."

I turn around and stare at him. "Do you need something?"

"You aren't... human, are you?"

I hold my Leviathan close. "So some humans _do_ think."

"I knew it the moment I saw you last night... Link doesn't know, does he?"

I laugh. "What do you expect of a ranch hand?"

"Link is so much stronger than he seems," the Mayor shakes his head, seeming to search his house for something. He checks his wardrobe. "And so much wiser... Ah! Here." He takes my hand and puts... my bracelet! He places my bracelet inside my hands. "The lad asked me to return this to you. And if he trusts you that much, I guess I can, too."

"Well, thank you," I tell him, wearing the bracelet again. I feel so much... better. "Though I wouldn't call it wise for you to trust a complete stranger. Link may have done so, but I do not advise you to..."

"I know, I know," Mayor Bo snorts. "There's a reason why I'm Mayor, you know. Now, I need to ask you a favor, non-human..."

"My name is Maeva."

"Yes, Maeva... Take care of Link."

I frown. "Why? He can take care of himself, and you know that as well as I do, if not better."

"Link _is_ strong. But he's so much more vulnerable than he seems, and he doesn't even know it... Swear that you'll take care of him, lass."

"Fine, then." I roll my eyes inwardly. "I will take care of Link... whenever I can. Are you satisfied, human?"

"Yes." Mayor Bo smiles at me and places his hand on my shoulder. "I hope you learn to trust in humans, too. We're not all that bad."

"Wha- how did you- I didn't say-"

"Go on, then, go, you don't want to be wastin' any more time, do you?" the Mayor laughs, the pushes me out of his house. He closes the door before I can answer. I scoff.

"Oh!" Link rides Epona towards me, Ooccoo on his shoulder and Ooccoo Junior safely sitting in front of him. "Do you want to leave for Kakariko now?"

"An unnecessary question," I huff. Link laughs me off again before helping me onto Epona. I reluctantly wrap my arms around his waist again and dig my knees into Epona.

"Hold on tight!"


	7. Sneak Peek Under New Management!

Hey everyone! I'm sorry to say that I will no longer continue this story. But. BUT! I've been in talks with a really good author named **junior-wheel** - you might know her for her amazing Night at the Museum fic - and she has agreed to take up the story and continue it for me!

It still has Maeva in it, and she is still the same competitive, childish girl you saw in Twilight Child, but junior-wheel changed details about her back story - for the better, I might add! Mine was just silly and quite Mary Sue-ish, I now realize. The fic will no longer be called Twilight Child. Junior-wheel has changed it to **My Way**, and you'll see why soon. I'm still involved in the back story, mostly, but the writing will be purely j-w's (trust me, ya want it that way). I just get to know all the details beforehand since the idea was my own to begin with. But seriously, junior-wheel's improved the story by SO MUCH. SOOOO MUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCH!

Anyway, she has written up to before the Goron Mines, I believe (as far as I know, anyway), and we agreed to let you have a sneak peek. This is an edit of the last chapter I posted. The time is changed because we (actually, junior-wheel) realized that the events that occurred should have taken longer than a day and that riding back to Ordon would take too long. I don't know if you know what I'm talking about but you'll understand when you compare 'Twilight Child' to 'My Way'. Here's the sneak peek!

* * *

"Eee hee hee! What are you talking about?" says Midna, sidling up from Ooccoo Junior's shadow. "You were getting cranky. And if those Gorons were going to let you into their mountain, it wasn't going to be tonight!"

"But Maeva is _always_ cranky," Gale pipes in.

"I—" I pause for a moment to glare at the boomerang, then look again to Midna. "She has…a point. I suppose."

Midna laughs me off, as always. "If you insist, Maeva."

I pull the blankets over my body in resignation. Midna almost always wins an argument – why bother? While the other females discuss anything that comes to mind, I reach into my pouch at the base of my bed, expecting wilted, fallen petals. That magnolia flower the monkey gave me will surely have died now, I remember, but to my pleasant surprise, it still lives, as fresh and fragrant as when the monkey first placed it on my ear. How is this so? I ponder the many possibilities, the many magics that might have worked themselves upon the flower – but who could have cast them? Nobody – and come up with nothing. I return the flower inside my pouch, thinking perhaps the bag preserves flowers, but I have attempted to keep living things inside it before to no avail. When I surrender my theories to the higher powers, I close my eyes, willing sleep to come, but I keep wondering what Renado might want with Link so urgently that he might ask to speak with him, now, when we should all be resting. Even a hero chosen by the gods can't operate on just a few hours of sleep, and we have been on the move since dawn.

"I wonder how the Gorons saw us in the thick of night," I think out loud minutes or hours later. I can't tell how long I've been staring up at the ceiling.

"Go to sleep, Maeva," Gale grumbles to my left, lying on the bed she, Ooccoo and Ooccoo Junior share. The two winged creatures mumble something else in agreement.

"I can't," I reply, but no one else answers. Why should they? We aren't exactly friends, and I shouldn't expect them to. I turn my back on them, intending to lie on my side, and find Link on the other bed to my right, briefly glancing at me before returning his gaze to the ceiling, wearing only his white undershirt and Ordonian trousers. His hat, gloves, tunic, and hauberk lie folded on the bedside table, his shield, sword and boots resting against it beside my staff.

"Link," I mutter, doing my best to lace in exasperation. I'm tired, but I don't feel particularly irate towards him at the moment. Call it gratitude for carrying me down the mountain (_not_ that I needed aid) or whatever you will. The bottom line now is that I can't fall asleep. That wolf's howling still haunts me – it is so difficult to imagine that it was Link _singing_ that melody. "When did _you _return?"

"A while back," he answers, his stare boring into mine in the darkness. I don't think he can see me, but I see him perfectly. "Did I wake you?"

"I said I couldn't sleep, didn't I?"

"_Shh_," Gale insists.

"Sorry," Link whispers.

I roll my eyes, but I understand how one might want to sleep. "What did Renado want?" I ask him in the same volume.

"He told me that the Ordon village mayor can teach us how to face the Gorons," Link replies. I inch closer to hear him better. "Bo was able to gain their respect before."

I give it some thought. "When your villagers tried to attack me that one night, it was Bo who called them to a halt."

Link pauses, his eyes widening in surprise. What is it? But I don't ask. He might ask how I know of his alarm. After a long pause, he smiles. I cannot grasp the workings of this human at all. "Bo is a good man, fit to be Mayor."

"As _you _are?" I challenge.

In the darkness, he shrugs and closes his eyes. "Some people seem to think so."

"Those children adore you more than they do their parents."

"It's only a phase."

"_Please. _Go. To sleep."

"Sorry, Gale," Link chuckles softly, his eyes darting elsewhere before they land on me again. He's looking right at me. Can he really not see in the dark? "We should probably sleep now."

"I was going to sleep," I say, covering my ear with a hand. "Until I realized you were awake."

Link only shakes his head and smiles, closing his eyes after running his hands through his hair. What is so funny? Why does he find everything so amusing? "Good night, Maeva."

I huff, rolling my eyes. I can't not answer – he'll know I was doing it on purpose. "Good _night_."

He's still smiling.

I wake up to the first beam of sunlight shooting in through the cracks and at the familiar, yet distant shrieking of bulblins. What is foreign to my ears is a panicked neighing, but that slips my mind as I shoot up in bed and reach for my staff. Link has already made his bed while Ooccoo, Junior, and Gale are still sound asleep.

I make no attempts to silence my steps, allowing the floorboards to creak as I run through the second floor and peer over the balcony just in time to catch Link running out of the Inn, sword and shield in hand. Instinctively, I jump over the balcony, gasping mid-air in grim realization of what I've done, but I land better than expected, rolling over only once and getting to my feet immediately.

I reserve time for applauding myself later and follow Link outside. Directly across me, a brown mare with a silvery-white mane gallops across the road of Kakariko, shaking off three green cackling bulblins. Link ceases this swiftly, stabbing them through the heart before they can rise, and shouts after the horse. He manages to climb her saddle and keeps calling out a word – _Epona_? – as she throws herself about the village wildly, nearly crashing into a few houses. She shakes off Link a few times, throwing him to the ground and causing him to land painfully on his posterior, but he always finds a way to jump back on her and is able to wrangle the mare after much effort.

"There, there girl," he whispers into her ear, riding close, waiting for the horse to calm down. When she comes to a stop, he dismounts, removes his fingerless gloves and brushes a hand against her mane. "It's me, Epona. It's Link."

The horse whinnies before nuzzling his face. So she belongs to him. Link chuckles. "That's a good girl."

"So young, and yet already of so much merit."

"Oh!" I glance to my right – when did Renado arrive? How is he awake at this hour? "Oh, you mean _Link_." Hmph. "Perhaps."

Renado pauses before speaking again, eyes still on Link and Epona. I follow his gaze as he speaks. "I will pray you have a safe trip back to Ordon. As for the Gorons, I am certain Bo will be able to impart how best to win their trust."

"I hope so. Pray your village stays safe as well," I reply.

"Ready to go, Maeva?" Link slowly walks up to us, pulling Epona along. "Or…am I interrupting something?"

"No, not all. Return safely," Renado smiles, wrapping his robe around himself more tightly and walking away.

When he is gone, I stare at the mare curiously. I have never looked upon a horse this close. But then I suppose the only animals I ever truly encountered before Midna chose to travel with Link were bats.

"Go on," Link says. "You can pet her. She won't mind."

I take a step back. "Animals don't often take to me." Not that we had any sort of animal back home, but this magnificent horse carries the look of one who seems to know when one is truly of the twilight, whether they chose to be or not.

"Epona's intelligent. She'll know you're a friend."

"I doubt it," I reply, but find myself reaching for the horse anyway. I feel a bit of her silky mane – and cringe, but no apprehensive neighing comes. I open my eyes and find the horse only staring at me. That…is more encouraging than any reaction bats have ever given me.

I smooth my fingers over the space between her eyes, the short bristles of her soft hair pleasant to the touch. Epona only whinnies softly and leans her face in to nuzzle my wrist. I retract my hand in shock. Such an intimate gesture from a beast. Perhaps she is more intelligent, if she knows I wish no threat upon her?

"Epona will be bringing us back to Ordon village," Link says, interrupting my moment with the mare. How rude… "Won't you, girl?"

Epona replies with an eager neigh. (Purely presumption on my part. But she does jerk her head in a manner that resembles a nod.) Wait…

"No," I say. "Your mare mustn't be accustomed to two riders at a time—"

"It'll be all right," Link waves me off. I might take offense if I am not fully focused on convincing him that a horse ride is unnecessary. "Epona's a strong horse. Her stamina is unsurpassable. And she'll cut down on travel time."

"But…"

Mirth spreads over Link's features. "You've never ridden a horse before, have you?"

* * *

There! Way better than how I wrote! And her characterization is so much better. Maeva is still hella annoying, as intended, but...I don't know. I just like her more now with j-w's writing :)) PLEASE GIVE IT A CHANCE! Go to **My Way** by **junior-wheel**, read it, and review, please! You won't regret it. It was really fun writing this story, but my fic _Sparks_ takes precedence right now and I just don't think I have the inspiration to write for Twilight Child anymore. I'll miss you guys! I won't delete Twilight Child just so you can compare the two, to see how My Way is better haha! I hope you liked Twilight Child, and I hope you like My Way even more :)


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